Truths of the Past
by long live marshmallows
Summary: CURRENT PROJECT: Just after Enma interrupts the Inheritance Ceremony and breaks the Vongola rings, Tsuna is transported to the past. Time in the present slows to a trickle as Tsuna spends a week with his ancestor, Sawada Ieyasu in Japan. Here he will find if there's any truth behind Primo's so called betrayal. Rated K.
1. Ch 1: Is He Dead?

**Truths of the Past**

**Summary:** In the middle of the Inheritance Ceremony, Tsuna is transported to the past, just after Primo's reign on Vongola has ended. Giotto and his family are now living peacefully in Japan and that is where Tsuna has landed. Here he will try to discover the truth behind Primo's so called betrayal. (Rated K)

**Timeline: **I don't want to start a debate so let's ignore this and let your imagination run free.

**NOTE: This fanfic doesn't have any connection to my other time travel fanfic.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

It was as though his world fell apart when the Vongola Rings shattered and hit the ground with a dull thud.

_The rings...the true Vongola Rings that we worked so hard to get. Destroyed...Just like that? _Tsuna thought. He struggled to look at Enma, his friend. He was already turning his back and walking away.

"Enma...y-you..." He tried to get up but he was losing consciousness fast. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was the shattered Vongola Ring.

_Chrome...They took Chrome...I wasn't able to protect them. _Negative thoughts ran through Tsuna's mind as he hit his head to the ground.

"Damn him! Juudaime! The rings, we have to find a way to repair them," Gokudera grunted.

Tsuna wasn't listening. He had felt something when the rings were crushed. Now the feeling was back and it was much stronger.

"Gh...kh..." Tsuna was pressed into the ground by an unknown force that didn't come from Enma's ability. _What's happening?_ His blood grew hot as the unknown feeling pulsed through his body. _"Ghaaaaaa!"_

Unknown to him, his body was beginning to give off a bright glow, blinding the sight of his friends.

"Sawada!"

Then the light was gone. And so was Tsuna.

* * *

Nine year old Sawada Ienari skipped down the road at dawn. He had snuck out of the house, avoiding his mother and father for some adventure time. They would never let him go out alone and he found it unfair. Seriously…who was going to hurt such an innocent, adorable little child?

He had blond hair and light, golden eyes from his father and his bone structure and almond shaped eyes from his mother.

It was an adventure for sure. He even brought along with him his wooden sling to hunt down enemies. Then he spotted something dark lying on the path. His eyes widened and he quickly hid behind a tree. After a second, he emerged again to stare at the lump. He tilted his head. It looked like a person dressed in black, lying on his front.

He walked to up to the person, sling at the ready. Upon a closer inspection, the man looked more like a boy. He knelt down and pulled at the boy's mass of brown hair to look at the face. He seemed to be around fifteen years old. He was also dressed strangely. Ienari has never in his life seen someone wear something so strange.

"Hey, mister? Why are you sleeping on the road? It's dirty and uncomfortable." Ienari frowned when he didn't get a reply.

His eyes were still closed! He poked at the youth's cheek a few times but got no reaction out of it. After a minute of hesitation, he put his sling into the sleeve of his clothing. Since he couldn't get him to wake up, Ienari pushed and shoved until he rolled the stranger over. He gasped when he saw how dirty he was.

"How did you get _this_ dirty? Even I haven't yet!" Leaning in closer to the body, he saw cuts, bruises, and blood.

"O-Oi!" He poked at the boy's side and received a quick inhale of breath.

_"Ite..."_

"S-Sorry!" Ienari said with tears threatening to fall. He hated giving others pain. "Are you okay? Should I get someone?" He felt for the hurting boy's hands and realised that they were covered by wool.

"...Who are you?" The older boy asked.

"I'm Ienari," Ienari said with a quiet sniff.

"Why are you crying?" The boy tried for a smile. "Oh...and I'm Tsunayoshi." Just then, Tsuna's face contorted into one of panic. "Where am I? What happened to Chrome?"

Ienari tilted his head. "K-Ku...romu...? What is Kuromu?"

Tsuna sat up quickly and screamed. He fell back down and groaned loudly. "Ugh…did I break something?"

Meanwhile, Ienari was panicking. "I'll get my father!" With that he ran back home.

Tsuna sat up gingerly and removed his gloves. He wasn't in as much pain as he thought. It's just that the sudden pain shocked him. He stared at Ienari's back.

"He speaks weird," Tsuna said. "Is it just because he's a kid? And why is he dressed up like someone from hundreds of years ago? A festival? Wait…how did I get here? WHERE'S EVERYBODY ELSE?" He shouted and looked around. He winced again and took off his suit jacket and threw it aside into the forest. It was a silly thing to be wearing.

_Ow-ow-ow-ow…_

* * *

Giotto had a feeling that his son would try for his first solo adventure the next morning. He knew he was right when he heard quiet feet padding down the hall and the quiet struggle to reach for his sling. He sighed and opened his eyes. The sun was barely over the horizon.

"Did he really go?" His wife asked him. Giotto turned to her and smiled. "Yes, he did. He will be back soon. Don't worry. Let's get some more sleep. I bet he will eat the energy out of us once he returns."

She chuckled and snuggled deeper into the covers.

But not much time had passed when they heard the door open loudly and their son scream for them.

"Tou-chan!" He ran to his parent's room and found his father sitting up, looking alert.

"Ienari…what's wrong?"

"Th-There's…" Ienari gasped for air.

"Come here, Ienari," his mother said worriedly with a look to her husband.

"What happened?" Giotto asked and rubbed his hand up and down his son's back. "Take a deep breath."

"He, he, he's…" Ienari gasped again and slowed down.

"He? Who is he?"

"Tsunayoshi! He's hurt!"

Ienari's mother questioned him as Giotto pulled on his outer garments and readied to leave the house.

"Who is Tsunayoshi, dear?"

"I don't really know," he said sadly. "He looks like he's in a lot of pain."

"Where is he?" Giotto asked as he knelt by Ienari.

"He was lying on the path to the forest. I can show you!"

Giotto nodded and took Ienari's hand. "We'll be back soon," he promised his wife.

"Be careful, Ieyasu."

"How does he look?" Giotto asked as they walked.

"He wore funny clothes! Some of it looked like the clothes you don't wear any more that's just folded up now!"

Giotto began to feel unsettled. _A foreigner? Here? Injured? Please don't let it be my past haunting me._

"See, he's over there!"

Tsuna turned his head at the voice and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. _WHAT IS THIS MADESS? VONGOLA PRIMO IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!_

"Boy, Tsunayoshi, right? Tsunayoshi-kun, are you alright?" Giotto asked. He looked at him up and down. His son was mostly correct about the clothing, although it was far from what he used to wear during his time in Italy. Only a few folds made it similar. The rest looked just as strange to him as it did to his son. The biggest relief to him was not recognising the face.

Tsuna's mouth hung open, unable to form a sentence. "Y-Yes…?" He said weakly. His mind was in a haze. Vongola Primo was standing…no, _kneeling,_ beside him!

"Hm…you don't look okay. Come to my house. We can treat your wounds there." Giotto stood up and reached a hand out for Tsuna's. Ienari was jumping up and down beside him. Giotto saw Tsuna hesitate and realised that it must be because he was a stranger, even though he met his son.

"I'm sorry. I forget my manners most of the time." He bowed slightly and introduced himself. "I'm Sawada Ieyasu, and this is my son, Ienari."

Tsuna stuttered. "Your name is Sawada Ieyasu? But…"

"Yes, I don't look Japanese, do I? I was born and raised elsewhere, but I decided to live the rest of my life here, in Japan." Giotto offered a kind smile. "Now let's get you off that ground, shall we?" Tsuna lifted his hand, his brain going on auto-pilot.

_Japan…Primo…Sawada Ieyasu…and his son, Sawada Ienari…uhh…does this mean I time traveled? Really, these things shouldn't even surprise me anymore, not after travelling to the future. No, not at all, this is perfectly normal,_ he thought. "Perfectly normal," he mumbled absently. _Just accept it, Tsuna…You'll wake up soon…_

And his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted.

"Whoa!" Giotto caught him before his head hit the rocks.

"He—is he dead?" Ienari asked fearfully.

"No, he just fainted," Giotto murmured and lifted the boy onto his back. "Let's go, Ienari."

"How did he get all those hurts?" Ienari asked as he ran to match the pace his father set.

"I don't know. We will have to ask him when he wakes. Run home and tell your mother to prepare some water and a place for him to lie down."

"Hai!" Ienari ran off.

"Be careful!"

"I know!"

By the time Giotto reached his home, his wife was waiting with a worried expression. "You can put him in here. I'll bring the bandages. He looks like a sorry mess."

"So he does," Giotto agreed and carefully put him down.

"Was he unconscious when you found him?" she asked.

"No, we spoke for a while, but when he tried to get up, he fainted."

"Poor child. His family must be worried sick."

"Kiku, I want to take care of the boy myself when he wakes up," he said to her.

She stiffened and put a hand on his arm. "Do you think he might have to do with your previous life?"

"I don't know… I just don't know."

* * *

When Tsuna awoke again, he was staring at a plain ceiling with plenty of sunlight pouring in from the opening to his right which led to the garden. He felt like he was lying on a bed that was rock hard.

"Ugh…" _I'm sleeping on the floor…wait. It's a traditional Japanese room…? How'd I get here?_

"He's awake!" Ienari shouted. Tsuna winced and tilted his head away from the speakers.

"H-Hah?" _Hiiie…right…time travelling…_ Tsuna sweatdropped. _How could I forget?_

"We can hear you perfectly fine, Ienari," Giotto said with a smile in his voice. He entered the bare room and said, "You've been asleep for about two hours, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"T-Two hours?" Tsuna yelped. "I'm so sorry!" He tried to sit up but Giotto held out his hands.

"I think it will be best if you stay right where you are…I just finished bandaging you, and I have not done that in a long time so I don't know how well I've done it. And there's no need to apologise. I'm glad to help you."

"O-Okay," Tsuna said.

"Now, how about you tell us how you received these injuries?" Giotto asked as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"…I was in a fight…" Tsuna mentally hit himself right after he said that. _Hiie! Now Primo's going to think that I get myself into fights like how Gokudera-kun does! _"W-What I mean is that someone attacked me! And I ran away…"

Giotto nodded his head thoughtfully. "I assume you out ran them."

Tsuna nodded. And then there was a moment of silence as Ienari fidgeted. Then Tsuna just _had_ to ask.

"E-Eto…if you don't mind me asking…where were you from?"

Giotto studied him for a moment and smiled. "I was from Italy. But it's long in the past."

Tsuna's mind raced. _He's definitely Primo. And this probably means that…he's not the boss anymore? From what Daemon let slip during the tests…it was his fault that Primo left and let Ricardo become Vongola Secondo. So this is at least around…_ Tsuna looked at Ienari and guessed. _Around ten years after he left. Which means that the Shimon family has also been…been…e…eliminated. _Tsuna's face paled.

Giotto saw the change immediately. But he couldn't figure out what caused Tsunayoshi to act this way. Maybe he was more injured than he let on. But his Hyper Intuition was telling him that it was more than that.

"Ne, ne, Tsunayoshi-kun, why were you wearing funny clothes?" Ienari finally blurted out. Tsuna looked at him in surprise.

"Funny clothes? What—hiie! My clothes!"

Giotto winced at the shriek. Why did it sound so familiar? "I dressed you in more comfortable clothing," he explained to the panicking youth.

"O-Oh…ah! What happened to my mittens?" Tsuna asked.

Giotto nodded. "I left them beside your pillow."

Tsuna sighed in relief and picked them up. Reborn would kill him if he lost the gauntlets in a different time frame. Then he remembered Ienari's question.

"Someone was giving it away, and my clothes well…they were dirty, so he gave them to me."

"Ooh," Ienari said with wide eyes. Tsuna smiled. Ienari seemed like a nice kid. He was glad that Primo settled down with a nice family. _Except that he was forced to leave behind the rest of the family, the Vongola behind,_ Tsuna thought grimly.

"Ienari, let's leave Tsunayoshi-kun alone. He looks like he needs more rest," Giotto said and gently pushed his son out the room. He turned back to Tsuna with a gentle smile. "Get some more rest, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"H-Hai…thank you very much S-Sawada…san…"

Giotto nodded and slid the screen back into place.

Tsuna collapsed on the hard mat and yelped. He sighed. _Reborn's going to kill me._

* * *

**_-LLM_**

**_Published 2013-06-20th_**

**_Edited 2013-06-30th (thanks, G L and Tsuna 4 Cn4s!)_**


	2. Ch 2: My Name Is Sawada Tsunayoshi

**Chapter Two**

"_The first Shimon boss was betrayed by Vongola Primo…and left to die."_

_Tsuna turned around and saw Enma standing before him. He saw nothing but Enma and darkness surrounding the two of them. "No Enma-kun! He wouldn't have done that!"_

"_Vongola Primo forced our family to go into the dark. We lost all our connections to the mafia and worst of all—"_

"_It wasn't like that, Enma-kun," Tsuna shouted. "Honestly!"_

_Enma shook his head slowly. "That's the truth, Tsuna-kun. That's the truth…"_

Tsuna stirred under the blankets and opened his eyes. The sun was high overhead now and there was more activity outside. _A dream…no, it wasn't. Enma-kun said those things when he attacked us during the Inheritance Ceremony._ Tsuna made a fist and gritted his teeth. _I have a chance to find out what really happened. I must take it!_

"Roar!" Ienari cried out.

Someone laughed. "Now what animal sound did Ienari just make?"

"A bear. ROAR..."

Distracted by the sudden shouts, Tsuna was pulled away from his thoughts and sat up to look around.

He thought sheepishly, _I must have slept for a long time. Hiie! I should find out how to get back to the present! Before that…what am I going to say to Primo and his family?_

He padded towards the the screens that obscured his view of the garden, which was where the voices were coming from. He stepped out and looked around in awe. There was a large tree off to the side with a shallow pond next to it, which was surrounded by rocks. There weren't only rocks near the pond, but there were rocks all over the garden.

"Oh! Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the female voice. To his right, Ienari and his mother were sitting on the ply wood floor with their feet dangling from the ledge. Ienari gave him a shy smile.

"Did we wake you? I'm sorry," Kiku said. Tsuna scratched his head in embarrassment and flapped a hand.

"I-It's fine! I should have woken up earlier anyways…" Tsuna couldn't help but notice how beautiful Primo's wife was. And they had such a cute son. It was practically the perfect family. Speaking of family…

"Eh…where is P—eh—Sawada-san?"

"He went to work," Kiku said with a smile. "He will be back for his noon meal soon though."

"A-Ah…I just wanted to thank him again, and then I'll be off," stuttered Tsuna. The faster he was out of there, the less chances there were for him to spill something about the future. Then he kicked himself. _Baka…why did I say that? _Now_ what am I going to do about learning the truth?_

"Eh? Are you in a rush to leave? Your wounds have not healed fully yet," Kiku protested and stood. "I'm sure Ieyasu would like you to stay until you are well again."

"If…if you say so," Tsuna said with a nervous smile but sighed in relief in his mind.

Suddenly Kiku gasped. "I still have to prepare the food…" she trailed off and looked at her son hesitantly as if she wasn't comfortable with leaving him outside on his own. "Ienari, let's go inside. You can play with your toys."

Ienari pouted. "But I want to stay here. I didn't get to finish my adventure this morning!"

Kiku put her hands to her hips and stared down at her son. "Ienari…"

The boy bravely stared back at his mother for two quick seconds before looking down. However, he had yet to move from where he stood.

Tsuna shifted on his feet lightly, unsure of what to do as the person in the middle. "Eto…if you don't mind, I can look after him for a while as a favour for taking me in…"

She casted him with a speculative glance. Then she smiled. "Thank you Tsunayoshi-kun! I really appreciate the help." She knelt down and patted her son on his head. "Ienari, I want you to behave while you are with Tsunayoshi-kun, alright?"

"Hai!" Ienari sang out cheerfully. Kiku patted his head and went inside. This left Tsuna and Ienari in each other's company with an awkward silence in the air.

"So…what do you want to do?" Tsuna asked. Ienari looked around shyly. Sure, he was the one who found the boy and hung around when he first woke up, but he wasn't sure what to do now that the older boy was awake and moving.

Having the same experience with I-pin when she first arrived at his home, Tsuna had a vague idea on how to get the kid to start playing.

* * *

Giotto hummed to himself as he walked home for his lunch break before going back to work as the accountant of their lord. At first he was in no way comfortable with the idea of being an accountant, but it was lowly enough that no one in the mafia world would suspect the previous Vongola boss to be working as. So it would have to do.

_That's right…Asari said he was going to visit tomorrow._ The sudden thought of one of his friends dropping by put a smile on his face as he opened the front door.

"I'm back," he called out. Kiku replied with a greeting from the kitchen as he went to look for their son. He found him and Tsunayoshi in the yard chasing one another. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of his son actually catching up to the teenager and assumed that Tsunayoshi must be going slowly for Ienari's sake. Then Tsunayoshi…tripped.

"Aah!" Ienari crashed into Tsuna and they were both flattened.

Giotto chuckled at the comical expressions they both wore. _How did Tsunayoshi-kun manage to trip on his own two feet? Is he really that clumsy?_

Ienari looked up and smiled when he saw his father. "Tou-chan, you're back!"

"For a little while. I have to head back after I eat." He picked up his son and ruffled his hair that was becoming more like his every day.

Tsuna picked himself off from the ground hastily and smiled. "H-Hello…"

"Thanks for looking after Ienari. I assume you were put to the duty of babysitting," Giotto said gratefully.

"O-Oh, it's no problem! Hahaha…I have to do this every day anyways. The two kids at my house keep me busy most of the time…" Tsuna stopped abruptly.

Giotto cocked his head. "Speaking of which, we should contact your relatives, to tell them you're safe."

"No, it's fine!" Tsuna said a bit too quickly with his hands waving back and forth in front of him. He sweated slightly. "They live pretty far away and it would be better if you don't because it will just worry them!"

A trickle of suspicion entered Giotto's mind but he nodded nonetheless. Then he remembered something that he should have asked when the boy first woke up. "Tsunayoshi-kun…what is your family name?"

"My family name?" Tsuna repeated. _Uh…my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi…yeah right, like that will work. He'll probably think I'm some kind of spy trying to get into his family!_ He screamed in his head. _But if I don't say something right away, he'll get suspicious! Let's see…come on, Dame-Tsuna, think of something!_

These thoughts ran through his mind in a blink of the eye. "Oh…I guess I should have told you that earlier," he said nervously. Then he made the mistake of looking into Giotto's observant eyes. _Hiiiiie! He'll know if I lie! At times like this I really hate the family Hyper Intuition!_ He knew better than to lie to the man who initially possessed the Vongola Hyper Intuition.

Tsuna gulped visibly. _Better stick to the truth._ "It's S-Sawada…Sawada Tsunayoshi." At Giotto's surprised look, he went on quickly, "I know it's kind of strange! I mean, what's the possibility of running into someone else with the same name, right? But S-Sawada is pretty…common…?" Tsuna finished.

Giotto was struck dumb for a moment. _He is Sawada Tsunayoshi? That's…_ Giotto smiled reassuringly at Tsuna. "Yes, it is a common name. Who knows, we might actually be long lost relatives, ne?" _I chose 'Sawada' because it was a common last name, but to actually run into someone who actually has that last name…Maybe it's _too_ common. Then again, why is he explaining himself?_

Tsuna laughed along with his ancestor while imaginary tears ran down his face. _Oh if only you knew how true those words are, Primo…if only you knew._

"So Tsuna-nii has the same last name as us?" Ienari asked his father.

"Tsuna?" Giotto muttered under his breath.

"I-I told Ienari to call me that, since Tsunayoshi is such a long name…"

"I see." Then to his son, "Yes, he has the same last name."

"Oh," Ienari said with a finger to his lips thoughtfully.

Then Kiku walked out to announce that lunch was ready.

"Let's go, Tsunayoshi-kun. I doubt you've eaten anything since we found you."

"R-Really? Thanks…"

Tsuna looked around as Kiku led him inside. They seemed to be living in a decent house that wasn't too big or too small. Moderate. Normal. _It feels weird after seeing Vongola's headquarters in Italy,_ Tsuna thought.

Giotto watched as Tsuna walked into the room where their meal was set up and sat down. From what he saw of the boy's injuries, he should be showing some signs of being in pain, considering that his entire back was covered with a big bruise with cuts scattered all over the rest of his body. But he didn't. Not even when he tripped and fell with Ienari falling on his back a second later.

Exactly how did he come to have those injuries? It certainly didn't seem like any regular fight. He didn't find any signs of bruising from kicks or punches that came when people fought with someone helpless. He also remembered the slight crack on one of the ribs that would heal eventually. Meanwhile, he should still be in a hell of a lot of pain, which he isn't, or hasn't expressed outwardly.

_I'll just have to keep an eye on him for now even if I don't sense any hostility coming from him, _Giotto thought to himself with a nod.

"_Oi, Ieyasu! Are you in there?"_ A gruff voice from outside shouted. Giotto put down his cup with a smile.

Tsuna frowned into his own tea. That voice sounded very familiar…but where did he hear it from? This was the past. There was no way he would know someone from this time…

"Gokudera, come on in! We're having lunch," Giotto shouted back out the window. A few moments later, they heard the door open and a voice saying, "Excuse me." Then a red headed man stepped through the doorway and bowed awkwardly to Kiku.

_Hiiie…so…G took G-Gokudera as his…Japanese name? _Tsuna thought in shock. _Is this some kind of messed up coincidence?! _

G glared at Tsuna. "Hey…who's he?"

Tsuna jerked. "I-I'm Tsunayoshi…"

G just narrowed his eyes even more.

"He's staying with us for the time being while he recovers from some injuries," Giotto said simply. G continued to eye Tsuna suspiciously but he walked towards Giotto.

"We're meeting at the usual place tonight. Are you coming?"

Giotto grinned. "Of course I am. I'm not going to let you all out-do me now, am I?"

G smirked in return. Then he patted his best friend's shoulder a bit too hard to be friendly before he left.

Tsuna sighed in relief when the Storm Guardian left. Those eyes looked like they wanted to _kill_ him. He shivered at the thought. _Don't cross the Storm Guardian. Don't cross the Storm Guardian..._

Giotto winced and had to stop himself from rubbing the spot that was probably going to turn black by the evening. _You have some explaining to do, Giotto._ That was what G probably meant by it. Giotto sighed and stood.

"I'll be off now. There's not need to wait for me to eat tonight—I'm going straight there."

"Have fun," Kiku said with a smile. "And be careful."

_Eh?_ Tsuna noticed that there was some worry in her eyes when she spoke. And it didn't look like the usual worry a wife would show her husband when he's just going out with his friends. Exactly where was Primo going in the evening?

* * *

"You're late," a tone filled with irritation said when Giotto stepped out into the open. They were meeting in a secluded area in the mountains near the village they made their home. They stumbled upon this perfect area for training when Knuckle had gone on a hike.

Giotto beamed at them and gave the occupants a wave. "Sorry about that…Alaude…Knuckle."

Alaude turned his head away with a scoff while Knuckle grinned at him.

"I'm not even the last one here," Giotto said reasonably.

"You're still going to turn into a pulp when this is done," Alaude promised and twirled his handcuffs with a finger.

Giotto laughed nervously and inched away from the cold man and closer to Knuckle who was smiling warmly.

Giotto leaned back to whisper in Knuckle's ear, "What's got _him_ in a foul mood today?"

Before he could answer, Lampo ran into the clearing with an angry G right behind him.

"Stop! I'll kill you for that!"

"Ore-sama didn't do it!"

"Yeah right," G snarled and threw a rock at Lampo, who jumped away just in time to avoid a rock that could have given him a concussion. "And stop using 'ore-sama', it's pissing me off!"

"Careful! You almost killed me with that."

"As if an idiot can get killed," G retorted.

Giotto sighed and shook his head. "They'll never grow up, will they?"

"Hello everyone!" A cheerful voice shouted from the shadows. Asari revealed himself with a laugh when he saw what was happening: G had Lampo in a headlock and was shouting at him to not set such foolish traps anymore while Knuckle was trying to get G to release their youngest member.

"Good, looks like we're all here," Giotto said. "G, do you mind letting go of Lampo? We're about to start."

"Che." G did so with a shove.

"Okay…first things first. Alaude, have you tracked down any new information?"

Alaude leaned against a large boulder. "No one has made any inquiries of your whereabouts. With all of the new names we have taken up, they know nothing more about you than what they knew ten years ago."

Giotto nodded. He was about to speak when he noticed that Alaude seemed to have more to add. "Alaude?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

There was a moment of silence before they all spoke at once.

"Wait, what?"

"That's too soon!"

"Are you an idiot?"

"You just came back a month ago!"

"Why are you going back again…?" Lampo backed away when he sensed the dark aura coming off of Alaude. The others sensed it as well and they quieted. An annoyed Alaude isn't a good sign.

"I don't have to explain myself," Alaude stated. "Now can we get started?"

G glared at him with a grumble.

"I found someone—well, more like Ienari found someone—lying in the middle of the road this morning. He didn't seem to be around these parts."

"Is this about that Tsunayoshi kid?" G asked. Giotto nodded.

"He was covered with injuries and said he was in a fight before he collapsed. But I think there's more to it than that. There's something he's not telling me."

Lampo scoffed. "Give the kid some privacy. Everyone has a few secrets. He probably ran away from home or something…"

"I'm afraid that this case might fall under 'or something'. Those injuries didn't seem to come from some random thieves kicking and beating him up." _It was more like he had a bad run in with Cozart, which is impossible. Besides, Cozart wouldn't do that to a kid,_ Giotto thought. What would a kid have to do with the Shimon family, whom should already be safely hidden from the mafia? Instead, he said, "He might know about Dying Will Flames."

When he looked up he was met with looks of disbelief.

"Giotto…how did you figure that out?" Knuckle asked. "People who know how to wield those flames are rare."

"…he has a pair of mittens that were made with the same material as my gloves, which are made to withhold the burning of Sky Flames." With that, Giotto pulled out his gauntlets.

"That is truly strange," Asari murmured.

Alaude noted that down as something else he should look into while he was away. Then he straightened from his sitting position.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it for now," G said.

Lampo also stood and brought out his shield.

"All we can do is train like usual," Asari said with a smile. "What's the reward for winning this time?" He asked as he brought out his blades.

"Hm…" Giotto tapped his chin. "We're running out of prizes."

Lampo huffed. "Just let the winner decide on it when the time comes."

"That works too," Giotto said and activated his Hyper Dying Will Mode.

It was a quick training session and less serious than it used to be, now that they weren't living among Mafiosi and fighting for their lives. Nowadays the training was meant to just keep them in shape.

It was training in the form of a competition, with all of them except for Knuckle competing until the winners faced each other, and then until only one was left. Tonight, that winner was Asari.

"Well, that was fun," Asari said with a satisfied sigh. His opponent, G, was glaring.

"Damn, I was so close," he muttered. "Hell, I can't believe I lost to you."

Knuckle opened his month to object to G's language but closed it with a shake of his head.

Asari sheathed his swords with a laugh. "Better luck next time, G."

Giotto brought out his pocket watch and saw that it was just after nine.

"Alaude, do you mind coming over? I need to give you something."

"Hn."

They said their farewells and left.

"Don't get yourself killed," G growled at Alaude. "If you get caught, don't lead them back to us."

Alaude was tempted to roll his eyes. As if he would do something as stupid as that.

"Bring back some cakes, would you?" Lampo asked. Alaude stared at him until Lampo grew uncomfortable. "…I'm joking."

Alaude snorted.

"We'll see you in a week then, Alaude," Asari said. "Have a safe journey."

As they walked back to Giotto's home, Giotto said to him, "Thanks for going back so soon."

"I'm not doing it for you," Alaude said.

"But you're going there and bringing a letter to Cozart while you're at it. So thanks in advance."

"Whatever."

Giotto chuckled and went into the house as Alaude waited outside. Giotto quickly emerged again with a plain white envelope that seemed to be filled to bursting. Alaude took it and was going to leave but Giotto held him back.

"One more thing…a favour…"

Alaude looked at him suspiciously. "Go on."

"Do you mind bringing back some of those special treats made by _Nuovo Pianeta Zucchero?"_

Alaude stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. "What?"

"We haven't had those for so long and you know how we all like to have some of those once in a while since they remind us of home and all of those good times we had back in Italy when we were younger, so if you don't mind, if you could I don't know, pop by some random shop and just grab a bunch for us, you'll be a life saver! You won't even be recognised since the treat is mass produced in Italy and you could find it in most general stores in Italy."

Alaude closed his eyes as he felt a twitch start in his left eye. "You and Lampo are ridiculous."

Giotto grinned, knowing he had won.

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Lady Ariadna: **Thank you, I'm glad you're interested!

- **Claudine:** Thanks!

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-06-25th**_

_**Edited 2013-07-02nd**_


	3. Ch 3: Adventures of Sawada Ienari (I)

**Chapter Three**

The same night that Giotto went to give Alaude his letter, Tsuna was learning a song sung by Ienari.

"You _have_ to know this song! Every kid knows it," Ienari insisted.

"_Hie!_ I'm a terrible singer! It's not going to work!"

But Ienari stomped his feet on the ground. "You have to, you have to," he repeated over and over again and stomped a circle around Tsuna.

"O-Okay, okay, I'll learn it," Tsuna said in resignation.

And so, Ienari began to sing a song. He was half way through it when his father passed the door. Ienari didn't notice but Tsuna did. He also saw with curiosity that he was holding an envelope. _Is he sending something to the post office? Did they have those back then? _

"There," Ienari said. "Now you try."

"Uh…_T-The sounds of frogs—"_

"No, no, that's not how you do it," Ienari said with a pout. "But…you don't sing _too_ bad, Tsuna-nii."

"Sorry. Ne, Ienari-kun, does your father always go somewhere with all his friends?" Tsuna asked, hoping to change the topic to _anything_ that didn't involve singing.

"Mm…I think so. He goes somewhere every week. They play somewhere but they don't let me go with them," Ienari said in a grumpy tone. Tsuna laughed and patted his head.

"Maybe when you're older they will let you join them?"

Then Giotto came back in looking much more content than he did previously. He saw the two boys talking and quietly approached his son to tickle him. Ienari shrieked and started laughing uncontrollably.

Tsuna watched them silently with soft eyes. _He never struck me as someone who would fool around so much. _But then again, the only time Tsuna ever _saw_ his ancestor was when he was in Hyper Dying Will Mode, which didn't show certain aspects of Giotto's personality. Just as he thought of this, Tsuna wondered if he could still access his flames in this time. _I'll have to find some time to try it without them noticing me. Or maybe I'll suddenly get sent back home before then,_ he thought hopefully.

"Tou-chan, tell me a story."

"It will have to be a short short _short_ story, Ienari. It's time for you to sleep," Giotto said.

Ienari complained a bit but agreed to a short short _short _story. He burrowed his way into his blankets and crawled back up with just his head peeking out.

Giotto turned to Tsuna. "Tsunayoshi-kun, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep here as well."

"I-It's fine!" Kiku had already explained to Tsuna that they put him in Ienari's room when they found him, and they didn't have a lot of space for another person. So, Tsuna had agreed to sleep in the same room as Ienari until they deemed him well enough to go home. He too got ready for bed.

Giotto began his story with Ienari looking up at him expectantly. His father laughed inwardly as he knew what was going to happen.

"A long, long, long time ago, in a far away land," he began in a soothing voice that had the '_go to sleep' _vibe to it. He noticed that Ienari's eyes began to droop but he snapped them back open.

"There was a young lord who lived in a large castle. He lived with several other people as well. Some were his guardians, some were his servants. Some were samurai…" he trailed off quietly when Ienari's eyes drooped again. He paused for a moment, waiting to see if Ienari was going to open them again. Brown eyes stared up at him.

"...But he wanted to find some new friends, so he left the castle when no one was watching."

At last, Ienari's eyes shut and his breathing slowed.

Tsuna smiled in surprise at how easily Ienari fell asleep. "That wasn't even three minutes," Tsuna said to Giotto. "Amazing…I wish I could do that." He sweat dropped. _Lambo would be complaining about one thing or another, like trying to make me change the story if he didn't like it,_ he thought.

"He's always been like this," Giotto said. Then out of curiosity he asked, "Do those children you look after cause you a lot of trouble?"

Tsuna thought it over. Should he say anything? He already let it slip that he had to take care of kids. Will it ruin the future? _Probably not,_ Tsuna said. He didn't really see any harm in telling Giotto about Lambo and I-Pin, as long as he kept their names out of it. So he told Giotto about some of the things Lambo did to annoy the people around him and how I-Pin would try to stop him.

Giotto laughed at some of the things Lambo did that it reminded him of Lampo. _Tsunayoshi seems like a safe person. I can't see him harming any one on purpose and it doesn't look like he can hurt a fly. I'm probably over reacting._

"Good night then, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Good night, Sawada-san…"

* * *

Alaude made sure he had everything packed and ready when he woke up the next morning. He had already changed out of his usual clothing into some more _discreet_ clothes that wouldn't cause people to stare at him when he reached foreign land. He placed his ticket in his coat pocket and left the house quietly.

When he reached the docks, he brought out his pocket watch to read the time. He had roughly ten minutes. He put it away as he fell into line.

"Next," the bored man at the ticket booth said. "Where to?"

"France," Alaude said. The man looked up at him with an amused look. "You're lucky. That one only docks once every month and it's hard to predict when it will come." When Alaude offered no reply, the man shrugged.

"The one going to France leaves in five minutes so you better hurry," the man said. "Next."

Alaude picked up his bag and strolled casually towards the ship where another man was standing before it. He gave the man the ticket before he boarded and sat down near the exit.

The ship was small due to the amount of people who would go to France from Japan. This meant that the captain would probably set sail ahead of schedule. Rather than making himself comfortable, he waited a few more minutes. As predicted, he heard the men grunt and close the doors. Alaude stood and slowly made his way to the short corridor and stopped to listen to the men go up the stairs.

With practiced ease, Alaude left the ship without anyone the wiser and jumped back to solid ground. It was early enough that no one saw his little acrobatics as he made his way to another ship—one that was heading to his real destination. He bypassed the man receiving the tickets and found a seat in the far corner where they weren't likely to see him.

Technically, he wasn't stowing away since he had a ticket. He just wasn't giving half of it to the man outside. He'll just show the one _inside_ the other half.

All of this extra work was a precaution in case anyone was following him. Alaude was sure that this will make it seem like he was going to France instead of where he was really going.

He looked out the window when he heard a growl of a bear and then a scream. He snorted and mentally called the person an idiot for allowing himself to get chased by a bear.

* * *

Tsuna dimly felt someone shaking him. With a groan he smacked the hand away.

"Tsuna-nii," a child whispered.

"Hnn… No Fuuta, go play with Lambo and I-Pin…"

The shaking became more insistent. "Tsuna-nii."

Tsuna rolled over so his back was facing the voice and stubbornly kept his eyes shut. "Leave me alone," he grumbled and swatted the hand from his shoulder.

"Mou…" came the dejected voice.

Tsuna began to drift off to dream land again when he was assaulted with tickles on his side.

"_HIIE!" _Tsuna jumped in the air and spun around. A small body followed, still tickling him. He blinked at the spiky blond hair in confusion. Fuuta didn't have this colour of blond hair and the other two kids were too small. Who is this—?

"Ienari," Tsuna exclaimed. "That's right. I'm in the past—_hiie!"_ He gulped, imaging what Reborn would do if he caught that slip. Even worse, if Giotto heard him.

Seeing that Tsuna was awake, Ienari stopped tickling him and smiled with a finger to his lips. "Shh…"

"Eh?"

"I'm going on an adventure now," Ienari whispered excitedly.

"Adventure?" Tsuna said with a yawn. He scratched his head and sighed. "What are you talking about, Ienari?"

Ienari jumped up and down in impatience with a pout visible on his small face. "I wanted to do it by myself, but since Tsuna-nii's here, and I found you on my first adventure alone, I thought I could find another boy!"

Tsuna froze. His brown eyes widened slightly and hoped that Ienari was just joking. He tried to laugh. "Hahahaha…Ienari, what makes you think that? I just fell there by accident, ahahaha."

Ienari made a big show of tilting his head to the side as though he was deep in thought. "I don't know. I just know."

Tsuna groaned. "I hope you don't find another boy…"

"Eh? What did you say?"

"N-Nothing!"

Ienari jumped again. "So are you coming?"

"I-Isn't your father going with you?"

Ienari shook his head silently. "Secret mission," he said simply.

"Th-Then…?" Tsuna pointed at himself. Ienari smiled proudly.

"I found Tsuna-nii, so Tsuna-nii is coming with me."

Tsuna sweatdropped at the statement. _So much for being cute and innocent…he's as demanding as any other kid I know._

But he couldn't just let him go out on his own. What if he found someone else who _wasn't_ as friendly as Tsuna? He let out a sigh and nodded. Ienari grinned and told Tsuna to hurry and change so they could go immediately.

Tsuna did so, making sure that he had his mittens with him. Then he felt something cool brush his neck. _Eh? Oh, Natsu! _He felt a moment of relief. _Good, I thought you were broken as well! What a relief._ He felt the ring grow warm in his hands, as if Natsu was agreeing with him. _I'll let you out soon, if I can still do that._

"Okay, I'm ready," Tsuna said and suppressed a yawn. Ienari put a finger to his lips and tip toed out the room. Tsuna felt foolish but followed suit. He had a feeling that Giotto knew about their _adventure_ anyways. And if Giotto was anything like Tsuna, he'd definitely rather his son come back alive and unscathed than otherwise. If that didn't happen, well, then, Tsuna didn't want to think about the consequences.

He helped Ienari get his sling from where it was hanging on the wall and they left the house as quietly as they could.

Tsuna sighed. "The sun's not even up yet."

Ienari pulled his sleeve. "Let's go!" And he began running.

"O-Oi! Ienari, wait up!"

Tsuna jogged after the boy as best he could in his heavy garments and shoes. "Aah!" He accidentally tangled his legs with the baggy clothes and fell. Tsuna groaned and lifted himself in time to see Ienari run into a narrow path winding into the forest.

"Eeep!" _Not the forest,_ Tsuna thought miserably. He hiked up the ridiculous clothing and caught up to Ienari in a few minutes. He grabbed onto the boy. "Wait for me, Ienari! You could get lost in here."

"Awww…oh, look!"

Tsuna's head snapped up. _Please don't let it be Reborn…_

It was just a rabbit. The moment Ienari cried out, the small animal bounced away as quickly as it could.

"Oh, darn it, I didn't get a chance to aim," Ienari said and lowered the sling.

"Why do you want to shoot a rabbit anyways?!"

* * *

**Ten minutes later...**

"Ne ne, Tsuna-nii, do you know where we're going?"

Tsuna stopped immediately at those words. "E-Eh?" They stared at each other for five seconds before Tsuna screamed. "HIIIIIIIIIIIE! I was following you! How could I know where we are if it's my first time in here? I can't believe we're lost…Ienari, don't you know where we're going?!"

"Eh…no?" Ienari said.

Tsuna collapsed. Ienari bent over him and asked slowly, "So…we're lost?"

"Ah…we're lost…we're going to die…get eaten by bears and swallowed up in hunter's traps…killed by Reborn's or Colonnello's hellish training…" Tsuna mumbled to himself. "I don't want to die so young!"

Ienari ignored Tsuna's morbid thoughts. "This is great!"

"_Hah?_" Tsuna lifted his head from the ground to stare at the child.

"Since we're lost, we can have a real adventure!"

Tsuna's head hit the earth with a thump. _How did I get this kid for my ancestor?_

With a sigh, he rose and continued on. He was jittery throughout their walk, looking out for anyone who might put them in danger. His eyes darted left, right, up down…they tried to see everywhere and everything at once.

So when Ienari suddenly shouted, Tsuna jumped a few feet in the air and grabbed his mittens. "Hiiiie! What—where—who? What's going on?"

Ienari giggled at Tsuna's reaction. "Nothing, there's just a mama bear with her babies over this rock." He pointed to said rock which was in front of them. He was laying on his belly looking over it.

Tsuna inched forward and let out an '_eep!'_ when he saw the truth of what Ienari said. Just a few metres from them, there stood a cave with a huge bear with brown fur and four cubs. "Are bears even supposed to be so close to the village!?"

"Hmm, I don't know. We should ask tou-chan when we go back."

"I-Ienari…"

"Hai?"

Tsuna pointed a wavering finger at the bears. Ienari followed his gaze and his mouth opened wide when the mother bear was making her way over to them. Fast. With teeth glinting from the rising sun.

"Ooooh…does she want me to play with her little bears?"

"_Hiiiiiiiiie! _No she doesn't. That means we need to_ get out of here!"_ Tsuna grabbed Ienari's hand and ran for his life. He looked over his shoulder and screamed again when the mother bear was still after them.

Ienari was _laughing_ while Tsuna carried him_._ "Tsuna-nii, mama bear is catching up."

"_Hiie!_ What did we ever do to the bear? Ienari, did you do something?"

"No, I don't think so!"

The mother bear roared which only encouraged Tsuna to go faster and caused Ienari to finally understand that they might be in trouble.

"Uh oh," Ienari said to himself. Tsuna ran on until he spotted a beach. When he turned looked again, the angry bear was gone. So he stopped and put Ienari on a large rock.

"Uuuuuhhh…I'm so tired," Tsuna gasped out.

"That was fun!"

Tsuna looked at the child incredulously. "That wasn't fun! Weren't you worried at all? It could have eaten us whole!"

Ienari said cheerfully, "Tsuna-nii was worried enough for both of us."

Tsuna looked at Ienari with surprise for a moment. He just saw Yuni's image flash over Ienari's. _As bright as the sky,_ he thought in shook his head and laughed.

Then Ienari imitated the mother bear which made them both laugh even more.

In a few minutes they were calm again. "Let's go back," Tsuna said.

"Un! But maybe not the way we came here," Ienari said with a giggle.

Tsuna muttered something under his breath and poked Ienari in the stomach. Ienari shrieked and jumped off the rock.

Compared to leaving the house, the walk back was fairly uneventful, if they didn't count the trap Tsuna stepped in which caused him to be dangled in mid air, or the case with Ienari accidentally hitting a bee hive which caused them both to leap into a pond.

By the time they reached the Sawada's house, Tsuna promised himself that he was never leaving the house with Ienari ever again. He was dripping wet and had stings from the bees all over him.

_At least we didn't _find_ anybody,_ Tsuna thought. _I don't know how to explain it if onii-san or Gokudera-kun, or worse, Mukuro or Hibari, appeared... Please don't let that happen._

"Let's do that again tomorrow," Ienari said as he skipped.

"NO," Tsuna said quickly with a panicked look in his eyes.

"Then what about the day after?"

"Ienari, where does all your energy come from?" Tsuna asked weakly.

Not understanding, Ienari just laughed and ran on. Then he stopped and waited for Tsuna at the entrance. "We have to be really quiet when going back in," Ienari said.

"Why? Wouldn't your parents know that you're gone by now? I'm sure they heard us screaming from the forest," Tsuna said.

"Shh!" Ienari entered the house just as quiet as when he left it. When they successfully reached Ienari's room without encountering Kiku or Giotto, Ienari let out a silent cheer.

Another minute passed and they heard footsteps in the hall. Ienari was about to run to his blankets so he could feign sleep when Tsuna grabbed his arm.

"Ienari, we're all wet!" Tsuna half hissed.

"But what do we do then?" he asked back urgently. "Tou-chan's going to come back in any moment now!"

"I don't know," Tsuna replied and pulled at his hair. "Aahh!"

Then the screen slowly slid back. Tsuna and Ienari gulped.

"Good morning, you two little sneaks," Giotto said with a smug smile on his face. "Thought I wouldn't know, didn't you?"

"Good morning!" Ienari said with a really big smile.

"Good morning," Tsuna said at the same time, more timid than Ienari's greeting.

"Hm…why are you two both wet?" Giotto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wet? Who's wet?" They heard Kiku's voice before they saw her beside Giotto. When she saw the state of the boys, she let out a gasp and then narrowed her eyes at them.

"Ienari-kun…Tsunayoshi-kun," she said sweetly.

"H-Hai?"

"Why are you all wet?" she asked, still in the sweet tone that meant trouble for anyone who knew her.

"Eto…" Ienari inched towards Tsuna. When he was a foot away, he dived behind the older boy and looked over Tsuna's shoulder long enough to say, "We fell in the water," before he bent down so he was totally hidden behind Tsuna.

"_Hiie!_ Don't hide behind me," Tsuna shrieked.

Ienari giggled. Giotto's mouth lifted into a slight smile at his son's antics. He turned to his wife and said, "Let's let him off this time."

"Heeh…only this time. You hear that, Ienari? The same goes to Tsunayoshi-kun too," Kiku said and jabbed a finger at her husband's chest. "And you—don't spoil him."

"_Me?" _Giotto said, totally aghast. _"Never."_

"Heheh," Ienari laughed quietly.

"No way," Tsuna mumbled. "Using me as a shield…even Lambo hasn't done that to me yet—no wait. He has." Tsuna sighed.

"Now get out of those wet clothes before you get sick!"

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Lady Ariadna: **They _could _be in Namimori, but I won't count on it. I haven't exactly decided on where they are at the moment, but it's a good possibility that they're in Namimori.

**- Great: **Thank you! Well, we're all busy once in a while so I don't mind. Daemon Spade…who knows? ;D He may or may not appear.

**- Claudine: **Haha, that's one of my favourite parts too!

- **tsuna: **Yeah of course I'll continue! I barely started xD It just might take a few days for me to update it… ^^;;

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-07-01st**_

_**Edited 2013-07-02nd**_


	4. Ch 4: At Long Last

**Chapter Four**

"Tou-chan, do bears live close to the village?" Ienari asked.

Giotto stopped drying his son to give him an incredulous look. They were standing in Ienari's room as Tsuna dried himself off in another corner. There were a few metres between them but Tsuna heard the question perfectly and let out a soft yelp.

"Bear?" Giotto repeated, thinking he had heard wrong. After all, he himself just awoke not too long ago and was worried that his hearing might be a little off after all those years he spent with his guardians.

Ienari nodded eagerly. "We saw a bear and its four baby bears. Bear-chan was running very fast too!"

"Bear-_chan_…the bear had four cubs? Four? And how do you know that the bear was fast?" Giotto demanded. Then he had a thoughtful expression on his face. "The most I've seen with a bear were three cubs… But that's not the issue at the moment—Ienari, were you chased BY A BEAR?"

Tsuna glanced around nervously, looking for possible escape routes.

"Hai! It was really fun! Do you think I can do it with Tou-chan next time?" Ienari asked with a pleading voice.

Giotto was at a loss for words. He simply opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. Then he shook his head and helped Ienari into some fresh clothes.

He spoke to himself in Italian. _"Chased by a bear…a bear of all things. I wonder if it's becoming some sort of tradition. God, I hope not."_

"Hah? Did Tou-chan say something?"

"Nothing of much importance," Giotto replied with a smile. He ruffled Ienari's hair. "Now that you're all cleaned up, how about you go and look for your mother? Breakfast should be ready soon."

"Breakfast!" Ienari cheered and ran out the room. "Oof!"

"Oh my, Ienari! Where are you running off to?" Kiku said in surprise just outside the screen which Ienari just slid to the side.

"Kaa-san!"

"Tsunayoshi-kun, I cleaned the clothing that you arrived in. I'm going to set it right here." She bent down and placed the neatly folded clothes by the screen and Tsuna thanked her.

"I'll leave you to change then," Giotto said and left the room with his family.

Tsuna let out a deep sigh of relief. It seems like Giotto wasn't going to strangle him for putting his son in danger after all. Or at least, not yet.

Little did he know that Giotto blamed himself for the bear chase. Perhaps Ienari inherited more from his father than he had hoped.

Tsuna walked over and picked up the clothing with a sigh. What was he going to do? He wished Reborn was here…then he shook his head quickly. _What was I thinking!? I don't want Reborn to be here! He'll cause mass destruction!_

He unfolded the clothes and started to dress. _How am I going to get home? It's been a day since I've come to the past, which means that it's been a day since Enma's attack._

Despite what Tsuna said to Enma, he was still unsettled by the whole business. Of course Giotto wouldn't do that to his best friend. Now that he's met the guy in person, he was sure of that. But where had that rumour come from? Maybe Cozart accused Giotto…

Tsuna stopped buttoning his shirt and looked up to the ceiling, imagining Cozart as an evil looking man with a goatee, dark eyes and hair, and an evil laugh. Maybe he wears a pinstripe suit and has a gun concealed in the jacket and has many followers in the shadows, with only their gleaming evil red eyes visible.

Ienari's shout popped that bubble. _"Tsuna-nii, are you done yet?"_ He called out from the other side.

"Y-Yes, I'm almost done," Tsuna shouted back. He did up the rest of the buttons and left the room.

Ienari led him to the table where they were having breakfast and ran to his seat. Tsuna sat down next to the little boy and bowed his head. "Thanks for the meal," he said.

"How are you feeling today?" Kiku asked him.

"Oh, I'm feeling fine, in fact, I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday," Tsuna said. "It's all thanks to you for taking care of me," he mumbled.

Giotto sweatdropped. _I have a feeling Tsunayoshi-kun forgot he was injured in the first place._

"Oh, that's right. Isn't Asari-san coming over today?" Kiku said suddenly. Giotto nodded.

"He said that he was coming sometime in the afternoon."

Ienari looked super excited. "Ugetsu-ojisan?"

"No," Giotto said sternly, figuring correctly what his son wanted. "You don't get to play with him today, Ienari. You have to study today, like every other day. I let you off yesterday because Tsunayoshi-kun needed to settle in."

Ienari pouted throughout the rest of breakfast.

Near the end of it, Giotto sighed with a smile. "Ienari, you can play with Asari when we get back." His eyes were kind and had a spark of amusement in them. "In return," he said before Ienari could shout and hug him, "do you think you could finish what I have down for you today?"

Ienari paused and narrowed his huge eyes. Then he sprung up with a determined shout promising that he will finish learning about "mulipicasun" and "divion."

"Eto…I think I'll just go walking in the forest for a little while," Tsuna said with a nervous smile as he pointed at the trees.

Giotto nodded. "Alright. Just be careful. I hear that there are…bears…in there," he said with a chuckle.

"Hie! I'm sorry about this morning! I really didn't know that we were going to run into a bear! Honestly!"

Giotto gave Tsuna a startled look. "Oh, I wasn't blaming you, Tsunayoshi-kun. Although I must admit that I was a bit surprised when Ienari told me about the bear. I can't really blame someone for doing something that I myself did, now can I?" He muttered the last part so quietly that Tsuna could only catch a few words from it. And even from that he couldn't make out what Giotto was trying to say.

"O-Okay…" Tsuna said. "I'll be going now."

"Wait one minute, Tsunayoshi-kun. Would you like to meet my friend, Ugetsu Asari when he arrives?"

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Eh—ah—wha—um—no—I-It's okay, you don't have to introduce us—it's fine, it's fine." Tsuna backed away until he was near the entrance. He was still waving his hands in front of him, trying to get the message across that he didn't need to meet with Asari, Primo's Rain Guardian, who sold his instrument so that he could afford the weapons needed to help Primo in dire times. He really, really didn't need to see another founder of Vongola.

"It's really fine, I wouldn't want to impose or anything," Tsuna continued nervously as he left the room. "There's no need to worry about me, Sawada-san," he said. "Truly." And he slid the screen shut.

Giotto blinked. Then he let out a breath and a relieved smile. At least now he knew Tsunayoshi couldn't possibly be a spy. If he were a spy, the boy would have agreed to meet with Asari just to see the Rain Guardian. _I__t could also be an act to make me think that way,_ Giotto thought. _But how else is he going to meet with Asari or any of my other friends if he doesn't agree with me? So, I think Tsunayoshi-kun isn't a spy for any of the mafia dons._

"Well, time to teach Ienari a few things to help him get through with life," Giotto said and got to his feet.

* * *

Tsuna was deep within the forest when he stopped and prepared himself to test his flames. He didn't have his Vongola Ring, but he should still be able to produce flames.

That was what Tsuna thought at first. But in order to try flying with his Sky Flames, he would need his gloves.

And those gloves were the one thing he didn't have on him.

"Hiiiiiiiiie! Where did they go?" Tsuna asked himself as he panicked. "I thought I had them with me this morning."

He tried to stay calm as he looked for them outside the house. But that was hard to do when you knew of the consequences that followed the loss of those mittens with Reborn as your teacher.

Maybe he dropped them in the forest earlier when he and Ienari went out? He was looking through every bush he could find, searching for his mittens.

"Mou…I hope I find them soon!" He was pulling his hair out due to stress as he backtracked towards the house. He froze at the front door.

Did he check Ienari's room yet? He ran to it as fast as he could and zeroed in on the table in the middle of the room.

There, sitting innocently on the surface of the table, were his white cotton mittens with the number twenty seven on its back.

"Oh thank god," Tsuna breathed out and scooped them up. "I don't have to die of torture."

He left the house again and entered the forest. It took him a little over two hours to search for his mittens and another half hour to be sure he was far enough from Giotto's home.

In a clearing surrounded by trees, Tsuna put his mittens on and took a deep breath as he activated his Hyper Dying Will Mode.

When Tsuna opened his eyes, they were the deep orange hue that always emerged when he was in Hyper Mode. He looked at his mittens which had turned into his X-Gloves. He clenched his fists and willed the sky flames to appear, which they did in startling amounts. His hair and clothing shifted as though a strong breeze just passed.

Satisfied that time travelling to the past didn't affect his abilities, Tsuna decided to fly in order to test them.

He propelled himself upwards slightly and tried a few twists and turns. Then on impulse, he dived down and flew quickly through the trees, darting around tree trunks as though they were put there by Reborn or Lal Mirch.

The forestry blurred as he picked up speed. The wind howled in his ears and all he saw were the colours green and brown and what was in front of him.

Abruptly, he halted in mid air and changed directions, this time flying higher and released pure sky flames. He arrived back to the clearing within seconds.

_Okay,_ Tsuna thought. He stared at Natsu's ring. "Natsu, you can come out now," he said to it.

A faint roar came from within it as Natsu was released from the ring. He landed on Tsuna's shoulder and greeted his partner.

"Gao!"

"Hey, Natsu." Tsuna smiled slightly. Then he tilted his head when Natsu began to nudge him. "You want to try some of our combinations?"

Natsu growled an affirmative. Tsuna nodded. "Good idea."

* * *

"Ieyasu," Kiku said from the doorway. Giotto looked up from over Ienari's small shoulders as he tried to master his current lesson. "Asari-san has come to see you. He's in your study."

"Thank you," Giotto said with a grin.

"I'll take over here," she said and patted him on the shoulder before saying to Ienari, "How are we doing, my little genius?"

"This is easy, kaa-chan!"

Ienari's remark was the last thing he heard as he walked towards the room they called his study. In it was a low desk and seats for him and his visitors to sit on. By the wall was a tall book shelf filled with scrolls and other papers that he had collected throughout his years in Japan. With them were some documents from his old life, but those were well disguised.

Asari was sitting so he was facing outside while he sipped from a cup of tea. He turned when he heard Giotto's footsteps.

"Good afternoon, Giotto!"

Giotto smiled and nodded. "Same to you, Ugetsu. How is Hinako-san?"

"She's as fine as any pregnant woman can be," Asari replied cheerfully. "It helps that Kenta is such a quiet kid. I thought five year olds were supposed to be louder though."

Giotto laughed. "Your son Kenta will start getting loud soon enough. You might want to enjoy the peace while you have it."

Asari laughed along with Giotto at those words. Giotto sat down in front of Asari and poured himself a cup of tea.

"So? Did you manage to do it?" Asari asked. There was a hint of giddy excitement in his eyes as he asked Giotto this question.

Giotto's own eyes flashed as he widened his smile and said, "I managed. Alaude will bring them home."

Asari leaned back with a satisfied smile. "I knew he would!"

Giotto narrowed his eyes. "Did you bet with one of the others as to whether Alaude will bring some of the treats home?"

Asari smiled mischievously. "I do not know what you are implying, Giotto my friend."

Giotto let the matter go and was about to speak when Asari frowned. The action was so rare that Giotto just stared at him with his mouth still half open.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I think there is someone around here releasing powerful flames," Asari said cautiously. Giotto didn't doubt him. Out of the six of them, Asari's senses were the sharpest and even when he wasn't trying, he was able to sense other flame users. It was a talent they treasured in their friend as they relied on it most of the time.

Giotto stood and widened his own conscious range. He should have felt the flames sooner but the lack of danger convinced him that he didn't need to spread his senses that far out.

Asari was already sliding open the outer wall to step into the garden even as Giotto sensed the flames. Giotto followed him but remained at a distance.

Asari pointed towards the forest. "It's coming from the east. And it feels...familiar. A lot of resolve..."

Giotto frowned. "Have we met any flame users here before?"

"No, I don't believe so. And I would have remembered such a flame if I had." _It feels as though the person is going through an ongoing struggle and must keep his flames as strong as possible,_ Asari thought with interest. _It's like how our flames were in the past, when we were constantly fighting for our lives. We relied on it so much. Now, even Alaude's has a measure of peace within. Yes, this flame has a calming presence, but there's more to it._ His eyes trailed to Giotto as he thought this. The flames were familiar indeed and he would like to find out why.

Giotto was pulling out his gloves. "I'm going to look for the source. I have a bad feeling that I know where it's coming from. Stay here, Ugetsu."

"I'm going with you." Asari left no room for argument.

* * *

Tsuna landed heavily on his feet. He winced as pain shot up his legs. "I have to work on that one," Tsuna said to Natsu, who growled.

"It's time to go back, Natsu."

Natsu let out a strong 'Gao...' and rubbed Tsuna once more before disappearing into his ring.

Tsuna looked at his hands and engulfed each on with the two different sky flames he wielded: the hard flames and the soft flames.

_I'll be an idiot to try using the X-Burner,_ Tsuna thought._ I'll have to make do without it if I get attacked by someone strong, but the chances of that happening are close to zero._

He let the flames comfort him for a moment longer before he decided to return to Giotto's home.

It was then that everything went downhill.

"Just who are you?" A demanding voice spoke from behind him.

Tsuna stiffened as he recognised his ancestor's voice. As he turned around to face the man, he let the sky flames dissipate which returned his eyes to their normal colouring.

Giotto stood at the edge of the clearing with Asari right beside him. While Giotto looked cold, Asari had a frown framing his mouth although his eyes showed concern for the boy, for he didn't see how a child could be an enemy.

They were shadowed by the trees but Tsuna had no trouble seeing his ancestor's blond hair and orange eyes. And a well used pair of gloves in Giotto's left hand. _Primo's gloves,_ Tsuna realised with a shock. The gloves his own gloves was based off on were right there. Because his gloves are so similar to Primo's, Tsuna also knew of their destructive power. _Oh...shoot._

Giotto stepped forward.

"Who are you?" Giotto repeated.

Tsuna gulped and took a step back.

Giotto simply advanced to compensate for the distance between them.

Tsuna began to stutter. It didn't help that Giotto was just staring at him, unmoving. "I wasn't lying when I said I was Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna said quickly before Giotto could move again. "It-It's just that I left a few things out. I d-don't plan to harm you!"

"I will ask you again," Giotto said and took another step towards Tsuna. He was now in the middle of the clearing with Asari right behind him. "Who. Are. You?"

_Hiiiiiiiie! What do I say?_ "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi...I'm fourteen years old," he ended up saying.

"What do you know about the flames?" Giotto asked.

Tsuna wanted to look away but he was held there on the spot by Giotto's cold stare. He couldn't even lie if he wanted to. A chill ran down Tsuna's back.

Giotto was..._intimidating_. That was the only word Tsuna could come up with to describe how he felt about the ex-Vongola Boss. Heck, from what he was seeing, Giotto still _acted_ like one.

It didn't mean that Tsuna was ready to tell him that he was from the future. So he opted to stay silent.

"Well?" Giotto prompted. "Are you going to answer me? Because we're going to stay here until I'm satisfied with your answers."

"I-I know that they're called Dying Will Flames," Tsuna said nervously. "And—and that there are different types of them."

Asari spoke for the first time since he encountered the boy. "How do you know this, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna was startled by the softness of the voice. He felt compelled to answer the Rain Guardian.

"I have a katekyoshi. He taught me."

Giotto thought about that for a moment. "Tell me truthfully, Tsunayoshi-kun. How did you end up on the road yesterday?"

Tsuna reeled back at the unexpected question. "Wh-What? I don't know how I ended up on the road, I just did!"

Giotto grew silent, as if composing himself. Then he said, "I let you into my home."

Asari grimaced and laughed inwardly. _There he goes._

Giotto continued. "I let you stay there as you recovered from these injuries that obviously came from a fight. I didn't force you to tell me about them because my gut told me that I could trust you. Everyone has some secrets they'd like to keep hidden. I trusted you."

Tsuna felt as though he was shrinking as he drowned in guilt. Primo did so much for him, and yet he kept this big secret from him.

"I trusted you enough to allow you to be alone with my child. My son. My only son. I don't know if you understand how much trust I have put in you."

_My father was never really around much,_ Tsuna thought glumly. _But I understand...I should apologise to Primo for keeping this a secret._

"I've given you a place to stay sheltered, to stay warm and to stay full. I think I deserve a complete answer. I respect your secrets, but I must know. I'm very protective of my family."

Tsuna bowed his head low, guilt written over his face. "I'm very sorry, Sawada-san! Really...I'm really sorry!"

Giotto's hardened voice softened. "Raise your head, Tsunayoshi-kun... There. Will you tell me truthfully?"

"Hai...I will. But..."

Giotto cocked an eyebrow. "But?"

"I uh... don't know where to start..." Tsuna laughed nervously and shifted on his feet.

Giotto let out a sigh and looked up to the sky.

Asari smiled and pulled Giotto back a step. "How about I ask the questions and you answer them?"

"Th-That could work."

"Alright. So with Ieyasu's original question: how did you arrive on the road?"

Tsuna hesitated. He gave them a look that asked if they really wanted to know.

They waited for his answer.

Tsuna pulled at his hair and realised that his mittens were still covering his hands. He pulled them off and stuffed them into his pocket. "Okay." Tsuna decided that if he was going to say it, he might as well get it over with.

"I came from the future. I was transported back in time and that place on the road was where I fell."

Silence.

"And that's...the truth?" Asari asked.

"...Hai."

Asari turned to Giotto helplessly. He had a disbelieving look on his face as he communicated with his friend with his eyes. _Are you hearing this? Better yet, do you believe it?_

Giotto himself was struck dumb. Of all explanations the boy could have come up with, this was the truth?

"Ieyasu?"

Giotto observed Tsuna's actions as he waited for the two men to speak._ "He's telling the truth...he's telling the goddamn truth," _Giotto said, reverting to his native tongue. The shock of it made him swear further under his breath, something he didn't do often.

His intuition had never failed him before and there was no reason for it to do so now, so he had to believe that the boy wasn't lying.

Tsuna saw the moment Giotto lost his composure. His jaw had slackened and his eyes seemed slightly bigger than before. Then he recognised the expression of someone who understood that something was the truth and only didn't want to believe it.

He relaxed slightly.

"I don't believe it," Giotto exclaimed.

Tsuna tensed again.

"It's so farfetched, I can't believe it."

"But it's the truth!" Tsuna protested as he began to sweat. His wide, brown eyes begged them to believe his story. "I was with my friends, and the—" Giotto's eyes narrowed at the stutter. "—the..." Tsuna almost swallowed his tongue to prevent himself from saying _the Vongola rings._

"The what?" Giotto inquired a bit too curiously.

"The...the..." _Come on, Dame-Tsuna, think! Think of anything!_ He ran through any possible words that could complete the sentence and still be the truth. But he found none.

He had backed himself into a corner which forced him to reveal the fate of the Vongola rings. And he really didn't want to do that, with the founder of said rings standing right in front of him.

_He's going to kill me,_ Tsuna cried out in his mind and wept inwardly. _I'm not going to live to see another day._

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Giotto said warningly.

Tsuna let out an anguished cry as his internal battle ended. He said in an exhausted tone, "And the Vongola Rings shattered. That brought me here, I think."

Giotto and Asari instantly thumbed for their rings on their respective fingers. But the rings weren't there; they were leagues away, separated by ocean and land, on the fingers of Secondo and his guardians.

"I beg your pardon?" Giotto said in a low voice. His hands were trembling but with what he did not know. It could have been anger, fear, shock—or all three.

Asari gripped his friend's right arm tightly, though his own hands were shaking.

Tsuna squeaked at the look in Primo's eyes. He wanted to run for his life.

* * *

The three of them were at a standstill: Tsuna was now nearing to the other end of the clearing as Giotto and Asari blocked his path from exiting the forest from the way he came in.

"Did I hear you correctly?" Giotto asked. "You just said the Vongola rings broke."

"We don't know if he's really telling the truth of being from the future anyways," Asari said in an attempt to be reasonable. "Even if your intuition says he's telling the truth, there's always a possibility that he can trick you."

Tsuna had the sudden urge to defend himself but the fear he felt overruled it.

Giotto raised both his hands. He had his eyes closed as though he was trying to ward away a headache.

"I know he's telling the truth about coming from the future," Giotto said painfully. "It's probably absurd to think that it's even possible, but we've witnessed things that were more impossible. Remember what we did before we left the rings with Ricardo?"

Asari's gaze dropped as he thought back to that moment. "I remember." No one could forget the moment when a piece of their soul was removed from the host and stored into their rings.

"But," Giotto said, "the rings."

Tsuna flinched.

"How do you know about them in the first place?" _I'll grill you about their destruction later,_ Giotto thought grimly.

Tsuna hesitated. Since Giotto left the Vongola, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him that his descendants had returned to their roots—to the mafia.

"I..." he looked at the two men fearfully, worried about what they'll do to him.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," Giotto promised with a sigh. His posture also relaxed from its tense position. "I overreacted previously. I'm not saying that I'm happy about this situation, but it would be better if I heard your story first before I overreact."

Tsuna's shoulders slumped. "Alright."

Asari interrupted before he could continue. "The others should hear of this as well."

"Oh..." Giotto said. "...You're right." Then to Tsuna, "You'll tell all of us everything you know later, when we meet. They all have the right to know." _Alaude is going to kill me for allowing this to happen without him being here,_ Giotto thought.

_"Hiiiiiiiiie!_ Y-You want me to speak to all of them?"

"Why not? This concerns them too, since my friends were the first wielders of those rings you just spoke of. I'm sure they'll all be interested in knowing _how_ they ended up broken."

_Why do I have a feeling that Primo will enjoy letting G tear me to pieces if I say the wrong thing? But he won't, right? Right? RIGHT?_ Tsuna asked himself. _Primo wouldn't do that..._

"Giotto, I think you're scaring him," Asari murmured.

"Nonsense," Giotto said offhandedly. "I was joking."

Tsuna wasn't sure what to believe now. His image of Giotto had been that cool and collected guy he met as a spirit in his own time, not someone who joked around casually about things that spiked fear through his veins.

They turned to leave.

"Wh-Where are you going?" Tsuna asked.

Giotto paused. "You'll tell all of us what you know. My friends would want to see for themselves who you are and what to make of you."

Tsuna gulped.

He followed a few steps behind them with a jittery gait.

"Ieyasu," Asari said. "You do realise that this probably means that he's associated with the mafia, one way or another?"

Giotto nodded slightly. "That I do," he replied softly, a heavy weight falling on his chest at the thought of a child in the mafia, wielding the Dying Will Flames like a master.

"I have to find G," he said to Asari quietly. "I'll bring Tsunayoshi-kun with me. Will you find Knuckle? Meet us at the usual place."

Asari nodded and they parted ways when they left the forest.

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Great:** Glad you like Ienari! I actually wasn't too sure how he would be received by everyone.

**- Lady Ariadna:** Thank you! I hope that this was satisfying! :D

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-07-17th**_


	5. Ch 5: I'm From the Future

**Chapter Five**

When Giotto said later, Tsuna thought he meant _later. _Not now. Giotto was currently leading Tsuna to where he assumed G would be. They walked through the town and the people greeted Giotto. He smiled and greeted them back but didn't stop to chat. He continued on until he reached was out of the heart of the town and nearer to the edge where only a few houses were built.

Many people didn't want to live so far away, since they would have to wait longer if something happened and help was needed. Giotto walked by some young saplings that lined the trail and stopped in front of a small house similar to Giotto's. He knocked on the door and gave a shout.

"Gokudera, I'm coming in," he said before opening the door.

Tsuna shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn't believe that G chose 'Gokudera' as his alias. Could it be a coincidence that it was the same family name as his friend's, Gokudera Hayato?

"Something the matter?" G shouted back from somewhere within the house.

"Just...a small thing," Giotto said. At those words, they could hear the rate of G's footsteps increase to a run before they saw him.

His red eyes looked over his friend as if expecting him to be injured or covered in dirt, or anything that would hint of a fight. When there were none, he turned to Tsuna.

"Oh. It's Tsunayoshi-kun, isn't it? I see you managed to get the bandages covering your face off..." G scrunched up his face as he stared at Tsuna incomprehensibly. Then he looked at Giotto and then back at Tsuna. His eyes settled on Giotto."This _is_ Tsunayoshi right? The stray kid you took in?"

Giotto sighed. "I don't take in strays, alright? And yes, this is Tsunayoashi-kun. What of it?"

G looked like he was about to say something but shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I'm probably imagining it. So? What's wrong?"

"I think it's best if you just follow me," Giotto said carefully. "I don't feel like repeating myself several times."

G tapped his foot in impatience.

Giotto sighed.

G continued tapping his foot with an arched eyebrow. "Before the sun sets would be preferred."

Giotto shrugged and with his head tilted towards Tsuna, he said, "Tsunayoshi-kun says he's from the future."

"..."

Giotto waited patiently for G's reaction to his sudden statement.

"Come again?"

"Tsunayoshi-kun, this boy beside me, is from the future...quite possibly related to the Vongola in some way."

G's entire body was as still as a statue while he thought of what it meant. "Are you serious?" That was what he wanted to ask Giotto. But he knew, as Giotto's oldest friend, that if he was telling him this, it was the truth. And he was pretty sure his friend wasn't so bored that he would make this up.

And yet...G shook his head at them with a frown. "What..." he said aloud. No one would blame him if he didn't believe the words, but the thing was, G trusted his friend fully—at least, when it came to serious things. That didn't stop the confused expression from appearing on G's face.

"How _far_ into the future?" G asked sceptically.

When Tsuna hesitated, Giotto said, "It's alright to tell him. He's one of my most trusted and oldest friends."

"I think...I think I'm..." Tsuna hesitated again. What did Reborn say? He didn't quite remember...then it struck him. He told them the number of years and their curious and sceptical faces turned to those of dull shock.

Giotto let out a long breath and laughed shakily. "Are you coming G?"

G continued to stand there. "And did you say he was related to the Vongola?"

Giotto paused. "I said I _think."_ He turned to Tsuna and continued. "We will have to ask him to find out for sure."

_Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie! H-How did Primo figure that out?_ Tsuna thought. Then he calmed down. _Oh...I told him about the—the Vongola Rings! _Tsuna's face lost all colour. _G is going to..._ he gulped and shook his head violently.

G let out a grunt as he continued to observe Tsuna under suspicion.

"Let's go," Giotto said. G nodded and led them out.

"Papa?" G paused before he closed the door. He looked back to his little girl. She stood by a room's entrance with just her head sticking out. Her dark red hair, like her father's, was still short, but no one could mistake the small innocent face for a boy's.

Tsuna paused at the soft voice of a child and turned around. G's body was blocking his view so he could only hear her voice.

"Where are you and Ieyasu-ojisan going?" he heard her ask.

Tsuna could hear the caring and smile in G's voice as he replied. "We're just going for a walk. We'll be back soon. Listen to your mother alright?"

"Hai!"

G closed the door and noticed both of them looking at him with amused smiles. Tsuna, because he never imagined Primo's storm settling down and having family. Giotto, because it pleased him to see his best friend living happily, and he was still amused with the fact that there was even a single woman alive who could keep up with G's attitude and still love him.

"What?" the man demanded of them.

N-Nothing," Tsuna squeaked the same moment Giotto just shook his head.

G took out a cigarette and lit it. He gestured for Giotto to lead the way.

Giotto made a gesture towards the cigarette. "Still at it? I thought you planned to quit after your daughter was born."

"Shut up. This is way too stressful. All this stupid time travelling nonsense is getting on my nerves. I don't even want to believe you but you leave me with no choice."

_Believe me, I know how you feel,_ Giotto thought dryly but offered his friend a comforting smile.

Giotto began walking and Tsuna followed him. Tsuna glanced nervously behind him and shuddered when he noticed G staring daggers into him from behind. The teen slowly turned to face the front again and was careful not to look behind him a second time.

"G, stop glaring at him."

Tsuna and G jumped in surprise at Giotto's sudden command. G swore under his breath while Tsuna was just relieved.

_"God, how does he do that?"_ G muttered to himself in his native tongue.

* * *

Tsuna was following Giotto to an unknown location—at least to him it was unknown. Giotto walked up the mountain side easily as though he was used to the treacherous climb. Already Tsuna had tripped at least three times. Each time, he picked himself back up and continued, making sure to watch his footing. His face grew redder and redder each time because of the embarrassment he was causing himself.

"Here we are," Giotto said and turned around. He raised his eyebrows when he saw how disoriented Tsuna looked from the slight climb. He smiled a bit apologetically. "Was it from the route I took? Sorry about that. I'm just used to taking roundabout routes to places."

G snorted.

Tsuna shook his head and waved his hands. "N-No, it's okay." Tsuna looked around him at the large space surrounded by a few boulders, trees, and a quiet stream a few paces away. Farther away, Tsuna could see where the ground stopped and empty space began. He gaped at the sight of the entire town lay bare. He could see every corner of it, from the farthest house to the boys kicking at a yellow ball while their parents conversed nearby.

"Wh-Where is this place anyways? The town, I mean?" Tsuna asked when he turned back to Giotto.

"This place? It's called Namimori. A small town, but the people are friendly and we live in peace."

_So this _is_ my home town,_ Tsuna thought in awe.

"Where's everyone else?" G asked. Distracted, Tsuna turned his attention to G and the new arrivals who were just coming up from behind them.

"We're here," Asari said. He was smiling at them with Knuckle right behind him. The priest was dressed in his robes and looked solemn. Lampo came after, yawning greatly.

"What is it so important that Ore-sama had to be woken up from his nap?" he asked and blinked at them. He noticed Tsuna and said, "Who is he?"

"I-I'm Tsunayoshi..." Tsuna said nervously.

"Oooh," Lampo said. He then ignored Tsuna, who sweatdropped.

"Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun," Knuckle said and offered a bow. "Welcome."

Tsuna hurried to return the gesture and stuttered a reply.

Giotto waited for them to introduce themselves before he said, "I believe that this is something really important, so I would prefer if we listen to the entire thing first before arguing." He looked directly at G and Lampo who weren't meeting his gaze.

They surrounded Giotto and Tsuna.

_I can't believe I'm doing this,_ Tsuna thought nervously. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Dismayed, he tried again. _I-Is something stopping me from speaking?_

Suddenly, he forcefully coughed and out emerged the words "—Past—future—"

Giotto furrowed his brows. "Are you alright, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"—I'm fine," Tsuna gasped out. He thumped his chest carefully, wondering what just happened.

Giotto's eyes suddenly unfocused as he seemed to be staring at something else.

"Oi!" G said sharply and snapped his fingers in front of Giotto's face. He did so a few more times before Giotto jolted out of whatever phase he was in just now and stared at them. He was breathing hard and his eyes darted to all his guardians in turn. Then they finally landed on Tsuna.

Each and every one of them were alert.

"What happened?" Lampo asked. He didn't see Giotto like that often and it scared him each time. It was as if Giotto was seeing something they weren't.

Giotto calmed down and shook his head. His expression still had a slightly grey shade to his skin. "Go on. Tell them."

Tsuna nodded nervously and sat down on a rock behind him before he could fall on it. "Eto...I'm...I...I'm actually...I'm not from...here. I'm from the future."

Since Giotto, Asari, and G already knew of this, they didn't show any shocked or surprised expressions.

Knuckle's expression didn't change. _Did he just say he came from the future? I must have heard wrong._

Very different from Knuckle's reaction, Lampo sprung to his feet in a panic and looked at Tsuna with an emotion they couldn't place. It could have been surprise, horror, disbelief, or...something. "Did you just say you were from the future?"

Giotto saw that Lampo's fingers were twitching, as if trying to grab something, before he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

_"Hiiie! _Y-Yes, I did," Tsuna said weakly. Lampo approached him.

"How?" he said.

"I-I don't know—"

"Lampo. He isn't finished yet," Giotto said calmly. Lampo stared at his boss as if he could drink in the calm Giotto resonated.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, please continue," Giotto said with a painful but somewhat reassuring smile.

Tsuna opened his mouth and delivered the lines that could possibly cause him to be tossed off that very cliff. "Th-The Vongola Rings broke...I think that caused me to..."

_CRASH!_

_"WHAT?" _G roared. His eyes were stormy and his tattoo stood out even more as his face paled. He pointed a shaking finger at Tsuna. "WHAT DID YOU DO? _WHAT DID YOU DO? WHO_ **_ARE _**_YOU?"_

Tsuna shrank back as G screamed profanities at him. Giotto grabbed G's shirt and threw him onto a rock but G just bounced back up.

"Listen to me!" Giotto said.

"What the hell. What the HELL, those rings represented so much to us and they were _destroyed?"_ G tore away from Giotto's grasp and glared fiercely at Tsuna.

"Uhhhh-oh," Giotto said as he saw G's expression. "Please remember that he's just a child."

G spat out words through his teeth. "The hell with that." He stalked towards Tsuna, who shrieked and fell in an attempt to get away.

Giotto half sighed and half groaned. "I didn't think you would react _this_ badly. Come now. Don't make a fuss, old friend."

Giotto moved so quickly they didn't see him. He had G in a headlock but he knew that the hold wouldn't stop his Storm Guardian so he changed his grip and dropped G to the ground with his knee pressed on G's lower back and his left hand holding both of G's wrists.

Tsuna's jaw dropped at the complex maneuver that was executed so perfectly it could make Fon jealous. Possibly.

"What do you think you're doing?" G growled at his friend.

Giotto shook his head with a soft smile. "What do you think _you're_ doing? You were about to attack a helpless boy."

G said, "Not so helpless when we found out that he could wield flames! How could you stand it, knowing that he—"

"It happened. We can't change that. _It happened_. I have accepted that. If they got destroyed, and Tsunayoshi-kun was injured this badly because of it..." Giotto smiled with no humour. "I would rather see the boy alive than to see him dead, killed while protecting the rings. The rings might mean the world to us, but to others, they are just rings. They are objects that we have given a name, given life. But still an object—an item compared to a human life. Which do you think is more important...G?"

His friend's grip slackened but G didn't try to get up. His eyes were open as he stared at the trees sideways. Giotto was right. But still...those _rings..._were they gone forever? Will they never be passed on to the next generation? _To be honest, I never expected them to survive for over three generations. _Even more important, what will happen to the universe? The Vongola Rings, the Mare Rings, and the Arcobaleno Pacifiers were all needed to control the Tri-ni-Sette. Without one part of it, G wasn't sure what the future would hold. And not only that...

They had placed a part of their soul into the rings. They didn't even know if they succeeded since it was just something Giotto wanted to do. Did a part of their soul really get embedded into the ring, or was it just something that they imagined? Either way, they will never know until the day they died. If so...they will be able to look over the rest of Vongola, to guide them, and to wait for the next true successor...for the rest of eternity.

"You can let me up, Giotto," G mumbled. Giotto waited for another moment before helping his friend back up to his feet.

_"Do you feel okay now, G? Will you go crazy on me again?"_ Giotto asked in Italian with a slight teasing smile on his face. G scowled.

_"No, I won't. But it doesn't mean that I have to like it!" _G rubbed his back where Giotto had held him to the ground. Damn, it hurt.

"The Vongola Rings..." Lampo muttered. "My Lightning Ring is gone?" He directed the question to Tsuna who nodded sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry..."

"How did it happen?" Knuckle asked. His eyes were filled with despair, but he accepted the loss.

That was the question they were all waiting for. Five pairs of eyes turned to Tsuna. He crawled back to his rock and crossed his legs at a sitting position. "Eh...well...How should I start? We...my friends and I...we were attending the Inheritance Ceremony when it happened. A small group came and attacked us all. They...they defeated us very easily, and were able to crush the rings." Tsuna made his hands into fists at the thought of what Enma and his family did to them.

"Who was the group?" Giotto asked. Tsuna's eyes lifted to meet his, and he saw that they were filled with pain and regret.

"I can't tell you."

Tsuna winced at G's low growl. "I'm sorry! But it will change the future too much to say anything!"

"That means the group involved dates back to our years as well," Asari whispered. "Who would do such a thing?"

Giotto shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know," he repeated to himself. He noticed that Tsuna did his best to avoid his gaze.

"There are very few people whom I know that are capable of destroying the rings, but none of them will ever do it," Giotto said.

"Can you say the same about their descendants?" Tsuna blurted out before he covered his mouth.

Giotto didn't even hesitate. "They will never do such a thing if they knew the truth. If they were brought up to go down the correct path then no, I will never believe it if one of them were responsible. Never."

_But then what happened between Primo and Cozart?_ Tsuna wanted to scream in frustration.

"So you don't know why you were sent to the past?" Knuckle asked. Tsuna shook his head. "And you don't know how?"

Tsuna said, "It might have something to do with the Vongola Rings breaking. At that moment, I felt very hot, as though my insides were burning...and then there was a bright light. And I woke up here, where Ienari found me."

Knuckle shook his head and made the sign against evil on his chest.

G swore. "There's no way...you _can't_ be..."

"What?" Lampo asked. "What can't he be?"

G pointed at Tsuna and said, "Boy, there is only one reason for why you had the Vongola Ring."

Lampo's eyes widened. "He _had_ it?"

G nodded but kept his gaze on Tsuna, who was beginning to panic. "You've been avoiding it, haven't you? You've been avoiding the little detail of _who had the ring on their finger._ It can't be...you're...you were the one with the Vongola Ring!"

Asari tried to stand between them. "You can't be sure of that."

"The hell I'm not! Boy, tell me if I'm right!" When Tsuna just stared at him, G repeated the order. "TELL THE TRUTH," he roared and was reaching behind his back.

"Yes!" Tsuna yelped, recognising the gesture. "Yes, yes! It was on my finger—please don't shoot me!"

"He could just be saying that because he was so scared," Lampo argued. "He could be lying! If he had the ring, then it means that he's the person who is going to inherit the Vongola. You think a weakling like him could possibly be chosen?"

Giotto asked Tsuna, "Do you have any way to prove that you are part of the Vongola? Other than your display of Dying Will Flames?"

"W-Well...I don't know..."

A sudden thought struck Giotto. "Tsunayoshi-kun, how did you know who we were?"

"E-Eh?"

"You somehow knew that the rings belonged to us."

Tsuna was still confused. "Y-You are the first generation of the Vongola...the founders. Everyone knows that."

G cocked a brow. "What, are you saying that we are famous now?"

Tsuna looked down, embarrassed. He mumbled about what he knew about Primo. "Well...sort of... P-Primo is known for how quick he moves, and how he can defeat a dozen enemies all alone in two seconds...and he was the strongest Vongola boss ever. H-He was known for being generous and accepting anyone into his family, even if they were a priest..." he looked at Knuckle. "Or even a king...b-but that might have been an exaggeration! And then Primo's secret techniques that no one else possessed...those of Primo's descendants could learn those techniques if they could figure out the secret behind the Dying Will Flames."

Giotto sighed inwardly. _I had hoped that I wouldn't only be remembered as the strongest Vongola__ boss ever...did everyone forget that we were a vigilant group at the start?_

"Um...and..." Tsuna looked at them from under his bangs. "And...Vongola used to be a vigilant group led by Primo before they joined the mafia..."

"How do you know that?" G asked sharply. "Knowing the mafia, they would have thought that it was shameful to start off as a true vigilant group that tried to help the people against injustice. I thought they would have covered that up or destroyed all the evidence there was."

Tsuna shifted in his seat again, uncomfortable. "My tutor believed that I should learn Vongola's history so he threw the _History of Vongola_ at my face one day and told me to read it all...or else he would drop me off on the mountain and make me run laps around it and camp there for a whole weekend with nothing but the clothes on my back..." Tsuna muttered the last part fearfully.

Giotto's lips twitched.

"I came across a few pages that were forcefully ripped out, so I asked him about it. He told me that some of the previous generations of Vongola bosses tried to remove all knowledge of it, but they couldn't destroy the entire book. B-But it's not common knowledge that Primo formed the Vongola as a vigilant group," Tsuna said.

_At least some people know of it,_ Giotto thought.

"You know an awful lot about our past," Lampo said. "It's kind of unsettling."

Giotto noticed that Knuckle was very quiet throughout Tsuna's explanation. "Knuckle, what do you think? Do you trust him?"

Knuckle paused for a moment to think with his arms crossed and eyes closed. he had a frown of concentration on his face, very much similar to Ryohei's. "I think that there must have been a reason for Tsunayoshi-kun to come down here, but only the lord will know the true reason."

Lampo said in an unbelieving tone, "Do you believe that he is Giotto's descendant?"

Knuckle hesitated.

Asari spoke up. "I think there might be some truth in it."

"For once I agree with him," G said. Giotto looked at him in surprise. G explained further. "He reminds me of you when we were his age. He almost looks like you, save for the brown hair and Japanese face."

Giotto turned to study Tsuna with interested eyes. "Are you sure? I don't see any similarities."

"No, they're there," G said positively. "I didn't know if I was just seeing things or not the fist time around. But when he took off those bandages on his head and face, I saw it. Only I would see it since I knew you since we grew up together."

"Huh. Even if I don't see the family resemblance, I have something else that could prove that we're related," Giotto said. His guardians gave him questioning looks. He explained to them, "The ring would reject anyone who doesn't have my blood in their veins. The wouldn't be able to wear the ring for long."

Tsuna's mind went back to the time after the Sky Battle, when Xanxus tried to place the ring on his finger.

Lampo shook his head slowly, not understanding. He lifted a hand towards Giotto and asked with a scoff, "Well what happens if a person without your blood wears it?"

"I don't know," Giotto said softly. "It wasn't my idea to do it."

"Whose was it then?" G demanded. "I never heard of this before."

"Sepira. The details aren't important at the moment."

G nodded, filing it away to force his friend to reveal the truth to him later. Sepira was the woman who founded the Giglio Nero Familyand was the one who gave them the Vongola Rings in the first place.

"But it's been ten generations...I don't think Giotto's looks would be passed down that long," Lampo said.

"What would you know about things like that anyways?" G said to Lampo.

"What about you? Are _you_ some kind of scientist who knows about how children get their parents' looks?"

"Even if I'm not, I'm smarter than you which means that I will have a better chance at understanding!"

"All you do is smoke all day, so even if you _were_ smarter than me, your intelligence must be shrinking!"

"I've been trying to quit! Are you insulting me?"

"What if I am?"

"Come now, G, Lampo, now's not the time to fight," Asari said soothingly.

"He started it!" They both said at once and pointed to the other.

"_Whoever_ started it is not the problem," Asari said. "I would like to make sure of something with Tsunayoshi-kun again before you continue. Perhaps after that you may let loose your wild anger and buy each other snacks for supper?"

G and Lampo frowned at Asari. _"What?"_

Asari looked from one man to the other. "I would suggest the shop just down by the harbour. They cook wonderful seafood snacks."

"Seafood..snacks?" Lampo asked with a tilt of his head. "You're joking right? Asari?"

Asari blinked. "No, I'm not. What makes you say so?"

G bristled. Asari turned away from them and said swiftly, "Now then. Tsunayoshi-kun, could you please enter Hyper Dying Will Mode?"

"H-Hyper Mode?" Tsuna repeated. "W-Why?"

"Please," Asari bowed his head slightly.

"O-Okay..." Tsuna was unsure of what the Rain Guardian wanted but he did so anyways. He called upon his power and lit the flame on his forehead. His eyes turned orange, like Giotto's. This had an immediate reaction from those watching, even Giotto and Asari who had seen him in the mode if ever so briefly.

G and Lampo, who were just about to start arguing, froze and turned around when they sensed the flames.

Knuckle's eyes were wide and he stepped closer.

Giotto fell back against the rock just behind him. It wasn't every day that he could see someone else wield the flames so easily, and look so much like him when they were in the Mode. Giotto himself didn't change so drastically. His eyes for one were always orange, and his personality, or rather his presence, was the same. The only thing that was different about Giotto when he was in Hyper Mode was the flame on his forehead that he was still unsure if _everyone_ could see, or if only the people who knew of Dying Will Flames in the first place.

G shouted something in triumph at this final possible truth that Tsuna was related to his best friend. He didn't know when, but somewhere along the way, he had taken the side that supported the thought of Tsuna being Giotto's descendant.

Lampo, who seemed to have taken the opposition, was beyond shocked to see how much the kid resembled Giotto now that he was in Hyper Dying Will Mode.

Asari closed his eyes and let his senses examine the boy's flame.

_Yes. Very similar to Giotto now that I'm close. He feels like a true sky. The struggle is still there. The child has honed his skills at using the flames well. But still very immature. He has probably only been using the flames for about a year or so. _

"Well, Asari?" Giotto asked.

"He's very like you. Everyone's flames are unique, even among family members. But there is always something about them that is similar."

"And that is?" G asked.

"The feeling of safety. Protection. Love. Many people's flames are represented by those, yes, but they are always expressed differently."

Tsuna was uncomfortable with Asari just exposing his feelings. Could people actually sense flames like that?

"Well," G said, "whatever it reminds you of, it only proves that he's related to Giotto somehow. I am still unsatisfied with the reason the rings broke, who broke them, and exactly WHO HE IS."

Tsuna was steadier now that he was in Hyper Mode. "I was the only candidate for the position of Vongola Decimo. I never wanted the position," he continued before they could say anything, "but I agreed to take it so I could protect my friends."

They weren't going to interrupt. They were too busy wondering how the Mode could change one's voice.

_Maybe that's how his voice would sound if he wasn't always shrieking or nervous,_ Giotto thought with a sigh.

"So you were supposed to be made into Vongola Decimo," Giotto said. _From me, Primo, to Decimo...I can't believe that we actually survived that long!_ "That's...quite a big accomplishment. What happened to the other candidates? There must have been others."

G was amazed that Giotto could just carry on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He knew for a fact that if Ienari suddenly developed his flames, Giotto would probably be so excited he would run over to his friend's house to tell him personally, then go over how he could help his own son practice controlling his flames, and lecturing him on when to use it and when not to, and to not let anyone find out about it. He seemed to have an entire schedule planned out for little Ienari and the child didn't even know what a Dying Will was yet.

Tsuna didn't think that Giotto would be pleased to know what happened to the other candidates. He himself didn't like thinking about them. "There were no other candidates. I was the only person other than my father and the ninth who have Vongola blood running through their veins. My father and I aren't directly related to the ninth or his family though. We're directly related to Primo, or rather, Sawada Ieyasu, the man who retired to Japan and started his family here."

"Thank you, Tsunayoshi-kun. You can return to normal now," Asari said. Tsuna nodded and closed his eyes. The flames disappeared and Tsuna's worried brown eyes returned.

_It took me _months_ to enter Hyper Dying Will Mode without help,_ Giotto thought. _And I was what...eighteen? Nineteen?_

"This is weird," G groaned and clutched his head.

"I-I'm sorry but I can't tell you a lot from the future," Tsuna said nervously.

"So, we know you're related to Giotto. You know about the mafia—heck, you're going to be a boss even though I would say that it's a wrong move," G said, ticking off points. "You know how to control Dying Will Flames including the Hyper Dying Will Mode. And...you're from the future..."

"...Yeah," Tsuna said after a moment. "Do you...believe me?" he asked them, full of hope.

They looked at each other.

"It sounds very convincing," Knuckle said. Giotto and Asari agreed.

"It might, but I don't see how time travelling is even possible."

"Time travelling is possible," Lampo said quietly. G raised an eyebrow. Lampo caught himself and shrugged it off. "He's our proof, isn't he?"

_"Right."_

Giotto covered his face when the sun's rays hit is eyes. He looked up in surprise. "We've talked away most of the afternoon. Imagine that. Maybe we should head back."

They got to their feet and stretched. Tsuna stood around awkwardly. He was glad that they believed him, but what was going to happen now, after he told them what he could?

"I still have a few questions," G said. "I'll be sure to find those answers by tomorrow or the day after."

"Tsunayoshi-kun isn't going anywhere," Giotto said with looked at Tsuna with raised eyebrows. "Are you?"

"N-No, not if I can help it," Tsuna said. One thing he learned from time travelling was that it was usually unpredictable.

"Good. I have a few questions of my own I would like answered as well. Mostly just out of curiosity."

"Giotto and his curiosity," Asari said with a laugh. Giotto suddenly pointed to Asari.

"I was supposed to do something...it involved you, Asari..."

"Me?"

"Yes...yes, I remember. I promised Ienari that if he worked hard today, he could play with you."

"You're not actually thinking of..." Asari trailed off. Giotto smiled brightly, showing his teeth.

"If you don't mind? Please?" he asked ever so politely.

Asari resigned. "Alright. But if I can't get home due to exhaustion, it's your fault."

"I was hoping that you could probably just play him a song and get him to fall asleep," Giotto said honestly. They headed for the trail with Tsuna behind him, listening in on the conversation with interest.

"Why? I thought your stories worked out fine."

"They do, but I don't want him to get bored of them so soon," Giotto confessed.

They continued to talk about their children until they reached the bottom, where G, Lampo, and Knuckle were waiting.

"Good night," G said to them. He glared at Tsuna. "_You_ behave yourself, _brat._ I don't care if you _are_ from the future, or if you _are_ the next Vongola boss. If you step out of line, you _will_ find holes in your head one night."

_"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" _

And G walked away back home, careful to avoid the town.

"Come on, Tsunayoshi-kun. We'd best go back." Giotto bid farewell to his other friends and walked. "Don't mind G. He...He's like that."

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Silence:** Glad you think so :) Yeah...poor Tsuna indeed. He always seems to find himself in the deepest trouble there is.

**- Great: **Those are some interesting ideas! And to your review of my other story: don't worry, I'll continue to put this story as top priority among my stories.

**- ****Claudine: **Sorry for the long wait! I hope you like this. Yeah, Tsuna was definitely scared by Giotto, even if it was only for a little while.

**- Lady Ariadna: **Yeeees! :D Tsuna told them everything! Well,maybe everything he _can_ tell them without changing the future! XD

**- LJ:** You sound a bit unsure there...but I'll take it as a complement for now...Haha^^;; Thanks~

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-07-26th**_

_**Edited 2013-07-26th (thanks, my **Great** anonymous reviewer!)**_


	6. Ch 6: Q&A with Tsuna, Giotto, and G

**Chapter Six**

Ienari ran at his father when the man opened the wooden framed door to his home. "Tou-chan is back!" he cried out with glee.

Giotto stood firmly on the ground so he wouldn't cause the two of them to fall to the ground from the impact.

"I'm back," Giotto said with a smile. His wife followed behind her son and welcomed her husband home.

"Ugetsu-ojisan is here too!"

Asari laughed. "Yes, here I am, Ienari-kun." He knelt down and ruffled Ienari's hair before he picked up his "nephew". He groaned exaggeratedly. "Mou, Ienari-kun got bigger. I won't be able to carry you anymore soon."

Ienari exclaimed his disapproval of this sudden realisation. Tsuna laughed in his head at his expression. It wasn't that different from Lambo's when he realised that Gokudera wasn't going to give him the treat he wanted. The only difference here was that there was no fear of Ienari pulling out a ten year bazooka and blasting himself with it.

"Now that I'm here," Asari said as he put him down, "what do you want to do first?"

"Could Ugetsu-ojisan teach me how to play the stick thing? The flute?" Ienari asked.

Giotto and Asari looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Ienari, what brought this on?" Giotto asked.

The boy was suddenly very shy as he tried explained to them what he thought. "Ugetsu-ojisan's music is really pretty. It is..." Ienari frowned, searching for the word. "C-Calm? Happy? I love it!"

Asari stared at the child in wonder before giving him a sunny smile. "It is not the flute that makes you feel that way, Ienari-kun," he said softly. "What it makes you feel depends on what the player wants you to feel…it depends on what is in their heart." He pressed his palm to Ienari's own chest.

Ienari nodded with a smile as if he understood.

"Do you really want to learn?"

"Yes!"

"Then off we go. Giotto, would you care to join us?"

Giotto shook his head. "Go on ahead. I'd like to speak with Tsunayoshi-kun some more."

Tsuna came to with a start._ Hiie! What now? I thought we were finished for the day! _

"I'll bring you all some drinks," Kiku offered and left them to prepare the tea.

With no other choice, Tsuna followed Giotto into his study. He saw the papers on the shelf and wondered if he could find anything Vongola-related on it.

_He may be retired, but shouldn't he keep some documents? It would make sense. _Tsuna felt a sense of dread come upon him as he thought of going through Giotto's scrolls. _Maybe he kept a diary of some sort that will explain the Shimon betrayal—not that it was one,_ Tsuna quickly reassured himself.

Once they were seated, Giotto said, "I want to ask some more questions about the future—well just what you are able to, Tsunayoshi-kun. I don't want to force you to talk about anything uncomfortable, since whatever I'm going to ask now is just out of curiosity," he said when Tsuna winced.

"Um. I'm not even sure if I will be able to reveal anything that would change the future."

Giotto nodded. "Does it have to do with your sudden halt back on the cliff? You were about to speak but stopped."

"M-Maybe. But it let me speak about the future afterwards so I don't know what's going on." Tsuna scratched his head.

"Could it be that you somehow overcame the barrier?" Giotto asked.

Tsuna frowned. "Eh?"

Giotto tilted his head, contemplating on whether he should tell Tsuna. Then he shrugged inwardly. This knowledge might have been lost along the way if he didn't know of it. Since he was a Vongola, it would be better if he knew of it.

"Do you know of the Arcobaleno?"

"Y-Yes, I do..." _I don't only _know _of them, they make my life a living hell whenever they can,_ Tsuna thought.

"The Sky Arcobaleno once told me something about the Vongola Rings. As you might know, Vongola means clam. Clams treasure the pearl inside the outer shell throughout the years—generations, even. The Vongola are able to access information through time, while the Mare Rings are able to access information through Parallel worlds. Do you understand?"

Tsuna nodded. "And the Arcobaleno appear at points in time...?" _I think that was what Yuni told me._

Giotto gave him a recalculating look. "You know of the song?"

Tsuna chuckled. "I'm...kind of friends with the current Sky Arcobaleno."

Giotto grinned teasingly. "So there's more to you than meets the eye, ne?"

Tsuna flushed. "N-No, there really isn't!"

"The point is," Giotto said, "due to this ability of the Vongola Ring, it could be that it has allowed you to speak whatever you wish, just as how the Vongola Ring transported you to the past. Going by the song, the Vongola Rings will have a special influence on time travel. I never really believed in it, but now I am forced to. I'm telling you this now as a precaution. You may have a power that can overcome the rules of time travel that has been set. So I would advise you now to be careful of what you will reveal. It might affect your future too much."

Tsuna stared at Giotto. _Most people wouldn't tell me this because they want to know everything they could. But Primo warned me to be careful. He really does care for other people more than himself. _He felt his respect for his ancestor grow.

"Thank you for your concern, Primo..." Tsuna said. Giotto dipped his head. "W-Well what is your first question?"

"Would you tell me about your guardians?" Giotto asked quickly. Tsuna blinked.

_E-Eh...why does Primo look..._ he hesitated to say, _excited...?_

Giotto laughed. "Sorry, sorry. It's just...I want to know how they are since the only Vongola Guardians I know of are my own and Ricardo's guardians."

"I-I don't see a problem with telling you..."

Even though Tsuna said that, he still only revealed certain things about them. He left out the face that Gokudera had been trying to kill him when they first met; how Yamamoto thought the mafia was just a game until recently and how he was in the hospital at the moment; with Hibari and Mukuro, he toned down their...over eager thirst for violence and how they were both trying to fight him whenever they had the chance; he described Ryohei's his love for boxing and how he constantly tried to get him to join the boxing club; for Chrome he described her as a gentle girl who would fight when needed and as a powerful illusionist.

"Wait...two illusionists? How did you find another Vongola Ring of the Mist?" Giotto asked. "You speak as though they are both your guardians."

Tsuna stopped in his narration. "They are," he said as though it were obvious. "They are both my guardians. But we only have one Mist Ring."

"How is that possible? Each guardian has their own ring."

Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck. How does he explain Chrome and Mukuro's relationship? "It's a bit...hard to explain...technically, Chrome was just taking Mukuro's place until he was...healthy again."

"Does that mean officially, this Mukuro-san is your Mist Guardian...?"

"Yes, but Chrome has been taking his place more than he has been around," Tsuna mumbled. "They kind of partner up and both share the role."

"Hmm." Giotto took a sip of the tea Kiku had left for them some time ago. "It might be possible if each of them have half of the Vongola Mist Ring—they _do_ still go by that tradition, yes?" Giotto asked anxiously. "The rings are split in two and each half of the six rings is given to the Boss and External Advisor?"

"H-Hai," Tsuna squeaked. "B-But I don't know how to reverse the rings to make them go back to that form!"

Giotto had a look of alarm on his face as he asked, "What are you talking about? What form is it in now?"

Tsuna leaned back from Giotto, who was leaning in urgently from across the table. "T-The o-original form?" he said as a question.

Giotto's eyes stilled when he heard this. "You said you were the tenth generation, right?"

Tsuna confirmed his question.

"Ten generations," Giotto murmured to himself. _Was I right? Did the Vongola's future become so dark that I didn't find a true heir until the tenth...the _tenth_ generation? That's..._

Giotto shivered then he looked at Tsuna. He wasn't sure whether the boy knew what he just revealed to him. Even if Giotto knew of how far the Vongola will stray from its true purpose, there was nothing he could do now. His hands were tied. His only relief was that the Vongola had finally found its path again, despite how long it had taken.

"Primo...?"

Giotto shook his head. "It's nothing. Tell me about your Lightning Guardian." He was curious to see that Tsuna had a stricken look on his face.

"My Lightning Guardian," he repeated. Giotto nodded with his brows furrowed. Tsuna seemed to ponder on the question for a long moment. Then he nodded to himself and looked Giotto in the eye. "He isn't ready yet. He likes to think he is, and my tutor tells me that he must be ready, but Primo, I don't think he's ready for it yet!"

"He isn't ready for it _yet,_" Giotto said, emphasising on the word "yet".

Tsuna nodded. "I know he will be very strong in the future but right now, he's just a kid. I can't let him fight for me."

Giotto didn't want to say the wrong thing. Instead of giving an outright suggestion on what to do about this Lightning Guardian, he said, "Everything will work out as long as you know that he will be there for you, even if he is not fighting."

Tsuna thought about that for a moment. Then he beamed at Giotto. It was as good as a "thank you!" being shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What about this tutor that you so love and hate at the same time?" Giotto inquired.

Tsuna froze. "L-Love and hate?" His eyes darted around. _Good, Reborn is not here,_ he thought.

"Yes," Giotto said, "when you speak of him, I could see that you wish he was here with you and yet there are times when I see that you think he is the devil himself."

_U-Understatement of the century! _Tsuna thought back of all those painful training regiments Reborn forced him to go through, not to mention the embarrassing first few weeks when they met. Even now there were some people at school who were recalling those few days when Tsuna would show up in just his boxers.

Oh, and don't forget those times when Reborn _helped_ him with his homework by strapping bombs onto him.

Tsuna could remember each and every one—it was hard not to.

"His name is Reborn," Tsuna said, "but I don't even know if that's his real name. He's part of the Vongola and helps tutor the boss-to-be that the ninth wants him to. He also taught an allied family's boss' son. That pupil is now the boss of his own family, thanks to Reborn."

"So he _is_ some kind of tutor. I was worried that he might be just some kind of thug who taught you the ways of the mafia world."

"Oh, no, he also helps with my school work...after all, he is a home tutor," Tsuna said dryly. _Not to mention the number one hitman, something he never failed to remind me every day of my life. _

"He also trains me to fight. And he's very strict, which is why I hate him sometimes," Tsuna admitted. "But...he's pretty cool, for a hitman who's also a home tutor."

_Cool?_ Giotto thought. _What does he mean by cool?_ He shook his head.

"He taught me a lot since he came into my life. I guess he changed me for the better," Tsuna said with a laugh.

Giotto grinned. "Everything influences is one way or another...Tsunayoshi-kun, is it possible to tell me about the current Vongola of your time?"

"To be honest, I don't know a lot about it," Tsuna said truthfully. "I'm still in training, and I would rather not be Vongola Decimo...and the main headquarters is in Italy. I live in Japan, so I don't get much information about them, save for what my tutor tells me if he thinks it will help me."

"But you must know of their reputation. What do people say about it?"

Tsuna's eyes became horrified as he thought about what he saw in future Hibari's air-tight box weapon.

Giotto wished he didn't ask when he saw his descendant's eyes. What he saw in them could only be caused by a nightmare or something of equal horror.

* * *

Several different languages were spoken on the ship. Chinese, Japanese, Italian and English were just a few of the many.

Alaude closed his eyes in an attempt to feign sleep. This should stop them.

_Just one more day until we dock,_ Alaude told himself. _There's no need to trouble myself over everything here. _

Twice—_twice, _has he been roused from his thoughts by women trying to get his attention. It was impossible. Maybe he should have worn his wedding ring but it was too late to change his mind now. As a disguise of a single man travelling alone, it would be questionable if he suddenly decided to put on a ring.

The ship was moving again. It was the third time it had docked to receive more and to drop off passengers.

He heard footsteps approach him. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing deep. The person didn't say anything. After another minute he heard retreating footsteps.

_I can't even observe my surroundings properly this way,_ Alaude thought. Soon he relaxed and real sleep overtook him for the rest of the day.

When next he awoke, Alaude was greeted by the smell of breakfast made by the small cooking staff on board. They were serving basic eggs and bacon with bread. He took his tray silently and began to eat while he thought of his route.

First stop was meeting with his contacts. Then he would be doing some investigating of his own. Third on the list was to look in on the Vongola. It was a risk, but what was life without risks?

After that, there was a special little mission he had to go on. Once that was dealt with, he would, grudgingly, go to Italy and find the blasted store and buy the stupid candy, then get on a ship.

"Are you travelling alone?" A soft voice asked in accented Japanese. Alaude looked up with his cold eyes at the woman standing before him.

Even in simple travelling clothes she was attractive, he'd give her that. But there was just something wrong when females approach random men they had never met before, especially when they don't know their past. Did this woman know that she was trying to strike a conversation with a wanted man of the mafia? He supposed not.

"_Not interested,"_ Alaude replied in English, recognising her accent. He turned away and studied the notebook he had in front of him, giving her an air of dismissal.

He saw her surprised face when he was able to pin point her origins. She let a smile grace her face.

"_Are you sure? You don't even know me," _the woman purred.

Alaude was tempted to give her another cold remark but he knew it wouldn't work on people like her. Instead, he settled for a nice, icy glare that could make even the toughest man back away.

She was just about to put a hand on the handsome man's shoulder when she saw his eyes. She faltered and slowly pulled her hand back. But oh, she wasn't giving up that easily. This man screamed high class and money, and she'd be a fool to let him go after just one glare. She took the seat across from his and placed her elbows on the table.

When it came clear that she wasn't going to leave until she had him wrapped around her finger—which would never, ever happen—Alaude shrugged. He snapped the notebook shut and put it away. _"If you insist that I don't know you, then why don't you introduce yourself?" _he asked.

She gave herself a pat on the back and smirked inwardly. _"My name is Annabella. Annabella Rosedale."_

Before she could say another word, Alaude spoke in a polite voice.

"_Then Miss Rosedale, may I ask where your lady friend that accompanies you on overseas trips is?_

Annabella stiffened. _"I beg your pardon?"_

The ship rocked on a wave and caused ripples to appear in Alaude's drink.

"_Perhaps you left her behind to think that you were still in bed. Even so, it was not polite to escape so soon after a marriage, no? It is common courtesy to at least tell your family that you are running away—especially after you stole a fortune from your husband's treasury."_

"…_S-Such cruel accusations!"_ the woman said after a moment of sputtering. She leaned away from the table and reassessed the man sitting before her. _"And I am _not _running away from anyone or anything."_

"_Then why the hurry?"_ Alaude asked, almost in a whisper as he leaned in to the table to look her in the eye with his cold blue ones. The combination between the smooth, masculine voice and predator-like cold stare made her breath quicken and made good bumps appear on her arms.

"_You still have some bruising the ring gave you from removing it in your haste to get away."_ He saw the moment her eyes flickered to her hands where indeed, there was still the reddened skin on her ring ringer. It was a good guess on Alaude's part, after she revealed that she was part of the Rosedale family.

She tried to laugh it off. But it came out like a cornered creature begging to be set free. _"You think I ran away from my marriage after taking my husband's money? What a laugh! Besides,"_ she said, _"even if I did try to run away, do you think any man would let go of someone like me?"_ She gestured to her own body with a wicked smile. _"I would have never gone as far as the property line if I were running away."_

"_Oh, I have no doubts about that. I'm sure Daniel is most anxious to find his newlywed wife, Miss Rosedale," _Alaude said coolly. Barely missing a beat, he continued. _"Or perhaps, I should be calling you Mrs Hanson? My apologies."_

Her smile was wiped off her face in an instant. She stood briskly and walked away but not before saying, _"You are mistaken. I am no Mrs Hanson."_

He continued to stare at her back. Her pace quickened as if she _felt _his gaze. When he was satisfied that he had warned her away from him, he returned to his own business, making sure to glare at anyone who dared to approach for whatever reasons.

* * *

Giotto walked through the night thinking of what Tsuna had told him about the Vongola—or _didn't _tell him about the Vongola.

"_What do people say about the Vongola?" Giotto asked. _

"_Eto…well Primo," Tsunayoshi said. "You know how it's part of the Mafia…right?"_

_Giotto closed his eyes with a sigh. "...Yes. I've heard of that. It's still a bit hard for me to believe, but Alaude is very convincing with his information. Are you saying that it still is part of the mafia ten generations later?"_

_Giotto could see that Tsunayoshi was trying to figure out a way to avoid saying anything that might convince Giotto to go back to Italy, which would mean changing the future. "It's doing better," Tsuna decided to say. _

_Giotto raised his brows. "Better."_

"_Better," Tsuna said in confirmation. _

Giotto sighed inwardly. _So it's doing better. What is considered better?_ Giotto shook his head. _Don't dwell on it too much. It will just give you a headache. _

He heard the splashing of the waves as he reached the beach. The moon shone on the sand revealing G's silhouette, looking out at the ocean surrounding the country and Lampo who lay on the sand with his hands at the back of his head acting like a pillow as he napped.

Giotto curled his toes in the cool, dry sand after he took off his sandals.

"Giotto, you've finally arrived."

"Yes, I had some thinking to do so it took me a while longer. Why is Lampo here as well?" Giotto asked before he settled down next to Lampo who was still asleep. "He looks like he should be home in bed."

G snorted. "He wants to know what happened to you back at the training field so he followed me, the little brat."

"Ore-sama's no brat," Lampo murmured in his sleep.

"And he's been sleeping ever since he got here. Don't know why he bothered to come if he's just going to sleep through it," G muttered.

Giotto chuckled and brushed Lampo's green hair from his face. "Lampo. Wake up."

Lampo twitched and opened his sleepy eyes. "Ah, Giotto is finally here. You kept Ore-sama waiting for hours."

"You were only here for ten minutes at most," G countered.

"Okay no arguing, you two. It's a perfectly peaceful night. Why don't we keep it that way?" Giotto suggested.

Lampo and G stayed silent.

"So what happened to you back there?" Lampo asked.

Giotto sighed. "I might have seen the future."

"Im_possible,"_ G said immediately. "What are you, some fortune teller? I thought we were clear that we weren't going to scam any more evil butcher shop owners after that one twenty years ago."

"You make us sound old," Giotto groaned.

"You conned an evil butcher shop owner twenty years ago?" Lampo sat upright. "You didn't tell me about this before!"

"Eighteen years ago," Giotto corrected. "And don't be so unbelieving. The Sky Arcobaleno can tell the future just fine…once in a while."

"Okay, okay. So what did you see?" G asked.

"I saw our souls in the rings. For some reason, we were very active. And with consent from all of my own Guardians, I restored the Vongola Half Rings to its original form."

Hesitantly, Lampo placed a palm onto Giotto's forehead to check for a fever. Giotto tilted his head away.

"What are you doing, Lampo? I'm not ill."

"You must be ill to even think about restoring the rings. At full power, they are practically indestructible. Why would you—why would _ore-sama_ agree to let you release the full power of the rings to this certain generation? They might be as bad as all the others! Wasn't that the reason you sealed them in the first place?" Lampo asked.

Giotto said, "I _must_ have had my reasons! But that is what happened back there."

"How was it made possible for you to see the future in the first place?" G asked.

"Around the same time, Tsunayoshi-kun choked on his own words." Giotto looked at his two friends for confirmation. He continued when they nodded.

"At that time, something was preventing him from speaking of the future, or even being from the future. It must have been an ongoing struggle between Tsunayoshi-kun and this power because he had no trouble speaking of the future before, with me and Asari. Even after that struggle, Tsunayoshi-kun was able to speak. It must have been the power of the Vongola which allowed that to happen, even if the ring is now shattered.

"It was then that I seemed to be pulled into a vortex or something similar to one. I saw certain things that happened while Tsunayoshi-kun wielded my ring. I heard nothing, but I could still understand what was going on, until that moment, where all of us appeared and I released the power in the rings to revert it to the original Vongola Rings. And thus, I returned to normal with G snapping his fingers in front of my face."

They accepted Giotto's reasoning.

"Well, if that is all, I'll be going home now…" Lampo said and started to get up but G tripped him to get him to fall back to the sand. "G! What was that for?" Lampo growled.

"If we're going to reveal secrets tonight, you might as well spill your guts as well," G said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lampo complained.

Giotto laughed. "That won't work on me, Lampo. I saw your reaction when Tsunayoshi-kun told us that he was from the future. You looked a bit too…excited about the news. Or was it panic? Lampo, what is going on?"

Lampo looked from one face to the other. He sighed and leaned against the rock that G was still sitting on. "Alright, I'll tell you. A few years ago when we were still in Italy, I had this idea of a sort of time travelling machine."

"You are as _crazy_ as old Talbot," G declared. Lampo glared at him.

"Just listen to me, pinkie. It wasn't going to be an actual _machine,_ but it was going to be something that you could bring with you, wherever you go, that you can use wherever you are."

"That sounds more like a gun or a book," G said.

"My point exactly," Lampo said excitedly and pointed to G. "I approached Talbot with the idea—" G groaned. "—and he thought it might work. I've been helping him on and off with how I wanted it to be, but I haven't heard from him in years…I don't even know if the old guy is alive or not, or if he even completed the first model."

Giotto was rubbing his temples. "First a time traveller falls at my door step," he says to himself. "Then I find out that my youngest guardian is actually some kind of mad genius. The day gets better and better."

"Not a dull moment at all," G said with feeling. "I'm done with this nonsense. I'm going home."

"G, I'm telling the truth!" Lampo yelled at G's back. G raised a hand as he walked away from them.

"And good night to you too," G called back to them. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

Lampo swirled to say to Giotto, "You believe me, right?"

Giotto sucked in a breath. Instead of answering Lampo's question, he posed one of his own.

"Why did you decide to make one, Lampo?"

Lampo closed his mouth and looked away. Giotto tilted his head to see his friend's face and was surprised to find that it was a bit red from embarrassment. "L-Lampo?"

"Don't tell anyone what I'm going to tell you, okay?" Lampo practically demanded.

Giotto raised a hand. "I swear upon the snacks that Alaude is bringing back even as we speak."

Lampo nodded and began to speak. "I barely help protect the Vongola. No, don't interrupt, Giotto. You know as well as I do that if you don't force me to, I would be cowering at home in my bed whenever a fight breaks out. I wanted to change that. I began to think, what if I knew what would happen ten years from now? What would happen then? I would be able to warn you, or at least change _something_ to avoid a terrible future, don't you think? I would be _useful, _even if it only lasts for five minutes. Five minutes is more than enough."

"Lampo…"

Lampo shook his head and waved Giotto's concerned hand away. "Forget it. Talbot's across the ocean and I can't get to him. There's no point. Besides, I'd die if I try to go back the way I am," he joked. Then he yawned. "Good lord. Ore-sama needs his rest! Let's go, Giotto."

Giotto smiled and got up. "Good night then, Lampo. Thank you for being my guardian."

"Always a pleasure to help get your _ears_ out of trouble," Lampo drawled out. Giotto shook his head with a snort and they began to walk.

As Lampo watched Giotto's back, he made a promise to himself.

One day, he would go back to Italy. Maybe he'd go back when he was older, when he looked less like a child and more like a man.

He would go back there and watch over the Vongola. There was no way he was going to let Daemon have full influence over it. That Daemon…knowing him, he would try to make the Vongola the most powerful mafia family out there, if it wasn't one already. But Lampo would make sure they don't stray too far from its original path.

One way or another, Lampo was going to find a way to protect the Vongola that Giotto envisioned.

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-08-01st**_


	7. Ch 7: Adventures of Sawada Ienari (II)

**A/N: **Just to keep you and I on track: Tsuna has been in the past for two whole days. And he's still in one piece!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Giotto was surprised to see Tsuna sitting outside when he returned. The teen was staring up at the stars lost in thought with his legs crossed beneath him.

"Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Primo!"

Giotto smiled gently. "I think it's best if you just call me Sawada like before."

"But…"

"My time as Vongola Primo is long past. I've put that behind me now. Sawada is fine," Giotto said, reassuring the teen.

Tsuna was reluctant to agree but since Giotto insisted, there wasn't much he could do.

Giotto joined him and they sat in silence for a moment. Giotto was waiting for Tsuna to speak, since he clearly had something on his mind.

When he didn't, Giotto took a not too random guess. "I'm sure the rings can be restored somehow."

Tsuna almost gave himself whiplash as he spun around to face his ancestor. "W-What?"

Giotto tilted his head with a crooked smile. "The Vongola Rings are powerful. They won't be gone forever just because of a little tumble. Yes, it was quite a shock when you first told us about it. After all, we have been wearing them for most of our young lives. But I have a feeling they will be back. Perhaps…a bit _different_ than how you remember them, but they will be back."

"They can be fixed?" Tsuna asked in a hushed tone. Giotto shook his head.

"I'm not saying that for certain; they may never be fixed. But the will of the rings shall remain. What you do with it is up to you."

Tsuna nodded his head and thought of his next question. "Sawada-san, the rings are in their original form now…if they are ever revived, how will I change them back to the Half-Vongola Rings?"

Giotto thought on that. "The _shape_ of the rings doesn't matter, as long as they hold true to their purpose: to protect those who are in need. If they ever have to be reverted to their weaker forms…" he smiled. "You can leave that to me."

Tsuna was about to ask _how,_ when he remembered that the will of all the guardians were in the rings and that they were the power which allowed Giotto to upgrade the rings to their original form in the first place, so the opposite could definitely happen. He smiled and nodded.

"I will leave it up to you, Sawada-san," Tsuna said. He unwound his legs and let them dangle off the side.

"Just out of curiosity, Tsunayoshi-kun…"

Tsuna's ears perked and he waited for Giotto to finish his thought.

"Did I see you use gloves when you were in Dying Will Mode?"

"M-My X-Gloves?" Tsuna asked. He pulled out the mittens. "What about them?"

"'X-Gloves', eh?" Giotto chuckled slightly. "Sorry, it's just that I never imagined this happening—one of my descendants actually using a similar fighting style as myself." He smiled when Tsuna offered his mittens to him. He gave it a once over and rubbed his fingers over the material.

"I sense that it's the same material, but this is wool. How did you change it to the metallic gauntlets you used to light the flames?"

Tsuna never actually thought about the technicalities. "It—it changes when I go into Dying Will Mode. I don't know why."

"Could you show me?"

Tsuna's eyes widened. "H-Hai!" _Ohmigod-ohmigod-ohmigod-ohmigod what am I going to do—Primo wants to see it, why am I so nervous? I wasn't like this the last time he wanted to see!_

Despite his inner panic, Tsuna put the mittens on and went into Hyper Mode. He showed Giotto the resulting X-Gloves, Version Vongola Ring. He found it sad that he was able to use this form when he didn't even have the ring. He calmed and opened his eyes.

When he saw the gloves up close, Giotto's eyes widened in surprise. "Compared to mine, yours is pretty different. That part on the back looks like the Vongola Ring." He pulled out his own gloves and studied the back of it.

"It looked like that when I got the gloves," Tsuna said, nodding to Giotto's gloves. "But they upgraded later when I was in a bad situation."

"Upgraded…" Giotto repeated the word slowly. "I never thought it could do that. It didn't even cross my mind."

_Considering how powerful you already are,_ Tsuna thought, _there was no reason to think it could be any stronger._

While Giotto thought about the flames and their gloves, he studied his descendant's face again. It was unsettling that the eyes have changed to an orange hue, a few shades darker than Giotto's own golden eyes.

"What can you do with the gloves other than light them up?" Giotto asked as a test.

Tsuna hesitated. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to reveal techniques that he learned in the future when he was currently in the past. He decided to leave out the X-Burner for that reason.

"I can fly, and I can do a few techniques that you have mastered," Tsuna said.

Giotto raised an eyebrow in a challenge. "How so?"

Tsuna demonstrated Zero Point Breakthrough: First's Edition. His gloves transformed the X into an I.

Giotto's mouth hung open as he saw the ice form in Tsuna's palm around a rock he had picked up for the demonstration. Gingerly, Giotto reached for the sharp object and raised it to eye level. Thinking of something, Giotto entered Hyper Dying Will Mode and placed the ice in his gloved left hand. He produced the strongest and purest Sky Flames he could muster.

Tsuna was forced to take a step back due to the powerful aura Giotto was emitting. It was then that Tsuna truly realised just how badly he would lose if he and Giotto ever fought.

After a few seconds, Giotto toned down the flames until they were gone completely. In his hand was the sharp, iced object that he received from Tsuna—not melted.

"You've really done it," Giotto said, not believing his own words. "That's a job well done, Tsunayoshi-kun." Giotto raised a finger and tapped it against his chin. "Have you ah…come across anything interesting while you developed this technique?"

Tsuna blinked his surprise. "I did, but how…?

Giotto looked pleased. "Sometimes when Ricardo or another of my relatives on his side of the family…" his expression turned bitter for a second before he continued, "…Tries to imitate or re-develop my technique, Zero Point Breakthrough, they end up developing something else instead. It's quite interesting to see them try to produce ice that can trap dying will flames, never to be melted. They have all failed," Giotto said as an afterthought. "But I was sure that a few would succeed after my time."

"I learned that the ninth was also able to use Zero Point Breakthrough," Tsuna said. "He's the only one I know who's still alive other than me who can use the technique."

"Interesting…I didn't think that the bosses would spread the knowledge so easily," Giotto said.

Tsuna thought back to how he discovered it. He had guessed it when he and Xanxus fought. Xanxus had even confirmed it afterward.

"So, what's this alternate technique you developed?" Giotto asked with another smile.

Tsuna nodded and placed his thumbs so that he formed a diamond with the sides of his hands. "I call this Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised." The flame on his forehead began to pulse. He was facing the yard as he did this.

Giotto heightened his senses. He felt the flames flickering on and off between different states. He himself went through a similar phase when he was developing the Zero Point Breakthrough.

Then, there was a very bright light that came from the flames in Tsuna's hands before it grew dark again. "With that, I can take in an enemy's flames without causing damage to myself and I can also make their flames my own."

"Oi, oi… I-Isn't that a bit…dangerous? If you time it, wrong, you could be severely injured…" Giotto frowned in concern but was also stunned by the technique.

"Ah. I try to be careful."

Tsuna showed him a few more moves that he learned including _Cambio Forma: Mitena di Vongola Primo _which was received with a very priceless face.

"That-That's…that's…!" Giotto shook his head. "What else have you learned?" he asked excitedly.

If Giotto's expression was priceless when he saw _Cambio Forma: Mitena di Vongola Primo,_ he was doubly surprised when he saw _Cambio Forma: Mantello di Vongola Primo_. "That's my cloak! How on earth did you just make it appear like that?"

Giotto resisted the urge to turn towards his room, to somehow make sure that his own cloak was still folded up. Of course, he didn't have x-ray vision so it wouldn't help if he did try to look.

Tsuna smiled and scratched his head, embarrassed. He put his gloves away. "It…has to do with the Vongola Box that was invented by scientists ten years after my present time. But I don't have the box, so Natsu helps me. He's sort of my partner."

Giotto's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What is…or, _who_ is Natsu?" He cast his eyes around to look for another person.

"_Gao!"_

Giotto jolted and looked down at the small lion that seemed to have Sky Flames as its mane.

"This is Natsu," Tsuna said and petted the lion who purred at the touch.

"A_ lion?_" the last word came out a bit higher pitched than Giotto wanted, but he was just too surprised at anyone having a lion as a pet.

Natsu simply sat there, waving his fiery tail in the air. "He-He lives in this ring…I know it's weird." Tsuna offered Giotto a slight smile which turned into a yawn. Giotto noticed him and glanced up at the moon, which had shifted its position greatly since he joined his descendant.

"It's time for bed, Tsunayoshi-kun. I've kept you awake long enough."

"O…Okay…" Tsuna said and rubbed tears from his eyes.

_Tsunayoshi-kun is indeed very odd,_ Giotto thought as he watched the young lion jump onto his partner's shoulder. They seemed to have a quick and silent conversation before the lion disappeared back to the ring it was stored in.

When Giotto returned to his room, Kiku was reading a book by candle light. She looked at him as he entered. "That was a rather long conversation you had," she commented with a smile.

Giotto kissed her and smiled back apologetically. "Yes, it was. It's not every day we have a guest who shares so many interests."

She laughed. "How much can a child share with you, a man who has experienced so much?"

"_Oh,_ we share quite a bit actually."

Kiku cocked an eyebrow.

Giotto debated on whether he should tell her about Tsunayoshi. But he still didn't know what the consequences were for this time travelling so he decided to stay quiet for the moment.

* * *

**The next morning at an ungodly hour…**

"Tsuna-nii." Ienari shook Tsuna gently and waited for a response. He frowned when the older boy did nothing but sleep on. "Tsuna-_nii."_

Tsuna might have a nickname that describes him as no good, but Tsuna had enough common sense to not answer to Ienari's calling.

"Tsuna-nii, wake up," Ienari whispered a third time.

_Don't respond. If I respond, Ienari will try to make me go on another adventure with him. Hiiie… I don't want to find another bear, bee hive, or anything! I've had enough and that was just one morning. How can he have so much energy? _

Slowly, Tsuna fell back asleep.

Ienari pouted and sat down facing Tsuna's back, wondering what to do next. He'd already tried tickling him but it didn't work as well as the last time. But it was so fun going on an adventure with someone else closer to his age. Things actually _happened!_

"Tsuna-nii, you _must_ wake up, please? There's an adventure waiting for us out there!" Ienari said in his most enthusiastic voice. "We _have_ to go!"

_No, please no… I already have a bad feeling about today. I'd rather not go outside to see what's causing it,_ Tsuna thought desperately when he was woken up once more.

Ienari shook Tsuna for another full minute before giving up. He stood to walk out the door but got tangled in the sheets.

"_W-Wha!" _

Tsuna's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He saw Ienari flailing backwards, towards the floor. _"Hie!" _He quickly grabbed at the boy's waist and pulled him the opposite way.

"That was close," Tsuna said with a sigh. That little mishap had caused sweat to run down his spine. Ienari however, was as cheerful as ever.

"Tsuna-nii's awake!"

Tsuna sighed. "Yeah, I am. Do we _have_ to go out today? Can't you wait until tomorrow, or the day after?"

Ienari was shaking his head before he even finished asking his question. "No, no, no. It must be today."

"There's nothing to see so early in the morning," Tsuna pointed out. The room around them had a dark, lazy blue colouring to it. "The sun isn't up yet. At the latest it's…four or five in the morning."

Ienari tilted his head. "I don't understand…"

"…Never mind."

Ienari released himself from Tsuna's grasp and jumped up and down. "Let's go!"

Tsuna groaned and fell back to the pillow. "How many times have you gone out alone, Ienari?"

Ienari thought about it. He raised a finger and said, "One!"

Tsuna groaned again. He couldn't let a kid who has only been out alone _once_ to go by himself. "Get your dad to go with you."

"But I don't get to play with bear-chan when tou-chan comes with me," Ienari protested.

_That's a good thing,_ Tsuna wanted to tell his very distantly related relative who was currently—most likely—giving him the puppy eyed look. He didn't even need to look at Ienari's face to feel it radiating off the kid. He made the mistake of actually opening his eyes to check if he was right.

"…Okay, I'll go with you."

"Yatta!"

…_Damn._

Ienari hummed as he put on some outer garments. Tsuna blindly grabbed at the first thing he touched and put it on sloppily. He fixed it as he walked which was probably not the best idea since he tripped as Ienari opened the door.

"I hope you know what you're doing today, Ienari," Tsuna said nervously. "We won't get lost again, right?"

"…"

Ienari was unusually quiet after he convinced Tsuna to accompany him on his grand adventure and Tsuna's Hyper Intuition was ringing certain alarms that he didn't want it to.

Ienari skipped down the lane with Tsuna matching his pace easily. He squinted in the predawn light, trying to see where they were going. The lighting made everything seem so surreal.

He heard the trees blow in the slight breeze and felt the pebbles beneath them, so they must be entering the forest again.

"Ienari," he whispered, "slow down. You might fall over on something."

Ienari made a negative voice. "Nnn, I won't fall." He skipped slightly higher at those words and continued on.

Tsuna on the other hand tripped over whatever it was on the ground.

"Hiiiiiie!"

Ienari stopped and turned around. He saw Tsuna sprawled on the ground in the morning glow. "Tsuna-nii, are you alright?"

"Ite…I didn't see that at all…"

"See what?" Ienari crouched by the thing that tripped Tsuna. "This?"

"You didn't know it was there?" Tsuna grumbled. "But you were able to just jump over it…what are you, some kid with psychic abilities?" he cut himself off after those words. He stared at Ienari curiously for a moment as his slow brain tried to move faster.

_Wait a second…is Ienari using his Hyper Intuition to sense things around him? But he's just a kid! _Tsuna sweat dropped. _He's also Primo's child. So…okay, maybe it is possible that his Hyper Intuition developed so early. But gosh! _He felt a sense of awe flood over him for the child who was poking at the thing Tsuna's legs were still on top of.

"It's soft and spongy," Ienari announced. "Tsuna-nii, I think we found a live log!"

Tsuna drooped. "A live…log…?"

"Mm! See? It even has arms and legs." As proof, Ienari raised a pair of arms over his head with his own hands. He waved the limp arms and dropped them to the ground.

Tsuna blinked. Struggling to crane his neck to look over his back, he scanned the form he tripped over.

It was dark. Maybe black. It was covered with leaves and branches as well as a muddy paw print from a bear. All in all, it really did look like a log. Except for the head, the two arms, and the two legs that were protruding from the places where they should…for a human body.

"_HIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_ Tsuna scrambled back from the figure and screamed again. "It's a dead body—it moved! _Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!"_

Ienari screamed a heartbeat after him and jumped a few feet away. Tsuna was looking over at the body in front of them while Ienari hid behind Tsuna.

Tsuna's eyes were rolling in his head as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. It was a guy dressed in black lying on the ground with his face in the dirt. He could tell that much, since he was seeing a large heap of short, silvery-white hair instead of a face—

"_Hiiiie! Is that GOKUDERA-KUN!?"_ Tsuna leaped forward and rolled his friend over. "Gokudera-kun!"

His face looked terrible. There were bruises and dirt all over his friend, and there were two open wounds on his head that bloodied his face badly.

Ienari yelped and covered his eyes. "Scary man!"

"I-It's okay, Ienari!" Tsuna said.

_Tch…damn, what's going on?_ Gokudera thought hazily. _I feel so dizzy…_

Gokudera slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused for a few seconds before he saw a rather very familiar face looking down at him in worry.

"Juudaime, you're alright!" not caring about his own battered body from Enma's attack, Gokudera grabbed at his boss' shoulders and squeezed _hard_. "What are those bandages on your head? Were you attacked? Are you alright?"

"What—_no!_ The bandages are an exaggeration. I wasn't attacked. I'm not that hurt, just a few scratches that are probably already healed. Anyways, why are _you_ still so injured?" Tsuna asked. "It's been two days! Haven't they tended to your wounds yet?"

That stopped Gokudera short from bashing his head to the ground. "Two days? Juudaime, what are you talking about? I lost consciousness just as your body disappeared! I saw this white light…and then I woke up here."

"But your injuries—you have blood all over your face!"

Gokudera felt his face and winced when his fingers brushed over the wounds. "Don't worry about that, Juudaime! Head wounds bleed a lot more than normal wounds."

"Th-They do?"

Gokudera took a look around his surroundings for the first time. "Where are we?"

"Wait, it's only been that long since I disappeared?" Tsuna said. "I thought I was gone for a longer time."

"No, it was just a few seconds, Juudai…me…?" the end of Gokudera's sentence sounded more like a question when he spotted some blond hair behind his boss. Tsuna turned to see Ienari kneeling behind him with tears threatening to fall down his face. Tsuna jumped slightly when he realised that he had momentarily forgotten about the boy.

"Hiie! I-Ienari, I'm so sorry! U-Uh…Gokudera-kun, I think you're scaring him," Tsuna whispered.

"I'm fine!" Ienari said and put on a brave face.

"Well, this is Sawada Ienari."

Gokudera just continued to stare at the boy.

"Why does he look so much like—?"

"He's Pr—well, he's that man's son," Tsuna said after a thought that he might not be giving Ienari the credit he deserved for having such a sharp mind. He might figure out what 'Primo' meant and that would lead to a lot of more questions he didn't want to answer. He'd leave it to Giotto to tell his own son about his past if he wished to. "Obviously he'd look like him, hahaha…"

"But he's practically a mini version of him! The power of genetics at work…" Gokudera was already going off on a rant about genetics before he even realised what this meant: he had time travelled to the past. "Most of the process is just the random mating of the egg and the sperm, contributions of random alleles. I'm not sure if golden eyes are dominant or not since I haven't looked into anything that talked about it."

Gokudera took a second to think before he continued. "Though just going by one type of gene is too simplified when trying to determine the actual eye colour. The same goes for the hair as well, since both hair and eye colour are polygenetic." He began to speak of halves, quarters, and eighths before Tsuna came out of his trance.

"—Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna interrupted Gokudera's rant about something he didn't understand at all. "I thought you were only into um, qu-quantum…physics and a lot more math?"

"Oh, I expanded my interests some time after I reached eleven years old. Biology up to university level was just a summer fling. After that I began—"

Tsuna felt doomed the second time in two days. _But still,_ Tsuna thought with a smile, _I'm glad to have even one of my friends with me._

He felt Ienari tugging on his sleeve. "Tsuna-nii," Ienari whispered. "Who is he?"

"He's…" Tsuna gave Gokudera a warning look to be careful of what he said. "A person we just found in the forest…how about we find a stream or something to hunt for hidden treasures?"

Ienari smiled but it dimmed. "Hai! And we can help mister get his face cleaned up! He looks hurt."

Gokudera began to kneel and bow to Ienari. "I am so pleased to meet you, Ienari-sama!"

"G-Gokudera-kun, that's too much!" Tsuna said hurriedly and tried to get his friend to stand up. "Can you walk?"

Gokudera punched a fist into his other hand. His eyes were closed shut while he was giving Tsuna a beaming smile. "I'm perfectly fine, Juudaime! I can fight off a few bears in my condition!"

Ienari stared at him with wide brown eyes. "You can fight _bears?"_

Tsuna face palmed and managed to get them moving towards a source of running water. While they walked, Tsuna explained where they were.

"We were transported to the past in Japan, Namimori," he began, "it was probably the rings that made it possible, so I don't think that there's an actual person behind all this."

"So, you've met all the guardians, including Primo?" Gokudera asked.

"Yeah." Tsuna shivered when he remembered meeting them, especially G, which reminded him of something. "G-san has taken 'Gokudera' as his alias when he moved to Japan."

Gokudera's face scrunched up. "That bastard! How _dare_ he steal my name? I'll make him pay for that!"

Tsuna's eye twitched. _Why couldn't he just let go of this weird competition he has with the first Vongola's Storm Guardian?_

"So we're in the past," Gokudera said with a shake of his head. "I can't believe it! This is amazing."

"We have to get back." Tsuna's voice was filled with determination. "Chrome needs us. And we need to clear up the misunderstanding between us and Shimon!"

Gokudera agreed with his boss immediately. "It doesn't make sense for them to just attack us like that! We have to get back at them. That damn Guardian of theirs was the one who attacked Yamamoto. Who knows how that baseball freak is now?" Gokudera growled under his breath.

Tsuna fisted his hands at the thought of his two guardians. _Yamamoto…Chrome…_so much has happened since he was transported to the past. First he had to get over that very thing, then he was under scrutiny of the entire first generation of the Vongola, and finally when things became less overwhelming, Gokudera was also transported to the past. Until now, he didn't have time to think about his guardians that much, which caused him extreme guilt. He was dismayed. _How could I have been so distracted?_

He let out the breath he was holding and relaxed his hands. "There must have been a reason. I hope that Yamamoto and Chrome are alright, but…we have to try to figure out what happened," Tsuna said though he sounded as though he bit at each word before they came out.

Ienari laughed with joy when they reached the stream. It was shallow and very clear. Ienari looked around with his golden eyes, wondering where to start. Should he look in the tall grass for the quest left there by the ancient cats, or should he go by the water to find the hidden gems left there by the school of talking fish a thousand years ago?

He decided to go for the gems.

"Hiie! Ienari, what are you doing?" Tsuna asked in a panic as he was kneeling down beside Gokudera by the stream a few metres downstream from Ienari.

Ienari paused and said, "I'm looking for gems! The talking fish from a thousand years ago left some here!"

"Be careful you don't fall in," Tsuna said earnestly. _I don't want his mother to kill me after the warning she gave me the first time!_

"Don't worry! I don't want to have extra lessons either!" Ienari said with a giggle as he guessed why Tsuna was making such a face.

Tsuna sighed and turned to Gokudera, who was taking out bandages from a first-aid kit that he had on his person…somewhere.

When Gokudera finished cleaning up his face he asked in a whisper, "Juudaime, have you tried looking around in Primo's office?"

Tsuna bristled and made sure Ienari was out of earshot. "What—_no!_ That's crazy, Gokudera-kun! He's _Primo!_ I swear he'd know if we went in there even if we only put out toe in. That man's got the senses of a—a—well, he can rival Reborn! Except he doesn't put bombs all over the place…"

Gokudera still looked unconvinced. "He can't be _that_ good…even if he _is_ Vongola Primo. It must be just his reputation that makes him that formidable!" Gokudera said with sudden realisation. "I bet he's just like any other person, Juudaime. We just have to make sure that he's nowhere near the house when we search it. I'm sure we can find something. Maybe a letter, or a journal back in the day when he met the Shimon Family."

Tsuna was beginning to think that Gokudera was right. "Maybe…"

"I'm sure of it, Juudaime!"

"But he'd definitely know that we're up to something. He's the one who gave me _my_ Hyper Intuition. Don't you think his will be EXTREMELY strong?"

Gokudera froze. The Hyper Intuition…he kind of forgot about that.

"Damn the Hyper Intuition," he muttered angrily. Then he realised what he just said. "I'm so sorry, Juudaime! I didn't mean yours, I mean just the Hyper Intuition but not _your_ Hyper Intuition—just it in general—no that's not what I meant, I meant Primo's Hyper Intuition, even though he did pass it down to you, but excluding _your_ part of it—I'm so sorry!"

"Gokudera-kun, it's okay," Tsuna said with a sweat drop. "Really, it is! I thought you promised not to bow so much anymore!"

"I found one!" Ienari shouted. He raised something small in his hand and jumped around in triumph.

Gokudera stared at the thing in the child's hand. "Is-Is that actually—?"

"It's the gem the talking fish from a thousand years ago spoke of!" Ienari said and ran towards them excitedly.

"What is it, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked when he saw that his friend was just staring at the boy. "Ienari? What is that?"

"See! See!" Ienari showed Tsuna what he found. It was the size of his finger nail, the colour of gold. And when Gokudera took it for inspection, he found that it might really _be_ gold.

"I think that's gold, Juudaime," Gokudera stuttered. "H-How did he manage to find _that?_ Namimori isn't a town people visit to pan for gold. They go to Mount Fuji for that!"

_They do?_ Tsuna thought. _How does Gokudera-kun know all these random facts!?_

"Gems! Gems! Gems!" Ienari chanted and danced in a circle.

"Juudaime…why are we following this kid?" Gokudera asked Tsuna in a whisper.

"He just drags me along all the time! This is the second time I came with him. The first time, we actually—"

"It's bear-chan!"

They heard Ienari shrieking somewhere beyond the grass. They could just see his blond hair sticking out from the tall grass.

"_Hiiiiiiiie! _Not again!" Tsuna wailed and pulled at his hair. "Why is the bear _here!?_ We avoided the cave!"

"Don't worry, Juudaime!" Gokudera said with a grim expresison as he ran towards the sound of the boy's shrieks. He pulled out his dynamite. "I'll get rid of that bear once and for all."

"Hiiie! Not with dynamite!" Tsuna shouted and ran after him. "Gokudera-kun, we should just find Ienari and run!"

He waded his way through the grass. When he was finally free, he spotted Ienari dangerously close to a bear with Gokudera right next to him, holding three sticks of dynamite in each hand. Tsuna's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of Ienari running towards the bear that was a few heads taller than Gokudera when it stood on its hind legs.

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, he ran up to them, grabbed Ienari at the waist, turned around, and hightailed out of there.

"Hiiiiiie! Gokudera-kun, run for it! Don't fight!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Gokudera was about to throw his first volley of dynamite when he heard his boss' voice calling him to retreat. He glared at the bear once more before following.

"Bear-chan is so _big!"_ Ienari said to Tsuna as they ran. He was grinning ear to ear as he spoke. "Do you think it's the same bear-chan as before?"

"I don't know, Ienari!" Tsuna shouted as he ran. He heard Gokudera running near his right. "Gokudera-kun, are you alright?"

"Never been better, Juudaime! I could have taken that bear all alone," he added.

Tsuna's shoulders sagged and his brown eyes looked tired as he thought, _Bear-chan seems to be making a lot of friends in these parts of town…_

"What are we going to tell Pr—Sawada-san?" Tsuna thought aloud. "We should tell him about you, Gokudera-kun but I don't think Kiku-san will appreciate feeding so many of us."

"I can build a tree house here!" Gokudera shouted back.

Tsuna gave Gokudera an incredulous look. "You're not serious, are you—?"

_ROAR!_

Tsuna almost tripped. "Hiiie! It's actually _after_ us? BUT WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"This bear might be a UMA in disguise, Juudaime," Gokudera said excitedly.

"UMA?" Ienari said. He tilted his head so he was looking at Gokudera. "What's a UMA?"

"Well, a UMA is…"

During the two minutes that they ran to exit forest, Gokudera had given Ienari a crash course on what a UMA was, possible habitats, eating preferences, appearances, and methods of fighting.

"I want to see a UMA!"

Giotto was waiting for them at the front door, with an amused expression on his face.

"Was that another bear, Ienari? Tsunayoshi-kun?" he asked.

"I found bear-chan!" Ienari said when Tsuna let him down. He jumped to his father, who held out his hands for Ienari's. Due to Ienari's height, his feet were dangling three inches from the floor, but Giotto didn't seem to mind his son swinging left and right.

Instead, he smiled and swung him some more as he continued his conversation with his descendant.

Tsuna moved from foot to foot nervously. "I'm sorry, Sawada-san…he just… I don't know how he finds the bear, or how the bear finds us all the time."

Giotto was still smiling, but he was looking at Gokudera now. "Ah…I had a feeling something like this might happen last night."

Tsuna looked between Giotto and Gokudera nervously. Gokudera was still staring at Giotto with a sense of admiration seeping out.

And Giotto knew that look—he'd seen it too many times back in Italy when people who had only heard of him finally met him.

Giotto slowly looked at Tsuna, resigned to his fate of meeting time travellers. "This young man is from your time as well, isn't he?"

"Y-Yes," Tsuna said with a gulp. "This is Gokudera Hayato, one of my best friends."

Giotto laughed when he heard the name, just because of the coincidence and implications it would cause.

"I-I'm so honoured to meet you, Primo!" Gokudera suddenly blurted out and bowed.

Giotto raised a brow. "It's very nice to meet you as well, Hayato-kun. And calling me Sawada is fine." He returned the bow gracefully even while supporting Ienari.

"I'm Gokudera Hayato, Juudaime's Storm Guardian and right hand man!"

Tsuna wanted to face palm at the introduction though he should have expected it.

"Right hand man, huh," Giotto mused. "I don't recall hearing any explosions this morning."

Gokudera looked puzzled.

Tsuna scratched his cheek. "I kind of told him that you specialise in dynamite."

Gokudera's face cleared up. He was so happy that his boss had mentioned him to the Vongola Primo and had even bothered to tell him what weapon he specialised in!

Before he could do anything to show his gratitude, someone shouted at the group.

"Oi! What are you all doing, crowding outside? Ieyasu, your hands are going to fall off if you let the brat hang onto you for any longer."

Giotto smiled at his friend. "Good morning to you too…G," he said.

G frowned at the usage of the name he used in Italy. "What?"

"Nothing, I thought that I'd just avoid some confusion by using 'G' instead of 'Gokudera' since there are two of you now."

G stopped next to Giotto and ruffled Ienari's already messy hair.

"Two? There's only one Gokudera in Namimori…who the hell are you?" G growled the last part when he saw Gokudera and the glare that was directed on him.

"You have the guts to ask me that after the mess you caused back in my time!?" Gokudera said. "And you even took my name!"

"How about we take this inside?" Giotto asked carefully, not really wanting to tread in between two storms.

"_Your_ name? What are you talking about?" G demanded.

Gokudera pointed to himself. "MY NAME IS GOKUDERA HAYATO! _GOKUDERA!_ YOU STOLE MY NAME!"

"I WAS BORN BEFORE YOU, GOD DAMN IT. I DIDN'T STEAL YOUR NAME."

"G-Gokudera-kun…" Tsuna sweat dropped when they continued on. When he looked at Giotto, he saw a bewildered look on his ancestor's face.

"Sawada-san?"

"Hn?" Giotto looked at Tsuna. "Oh. It's nothing. I just haven't seen G like this in a while." Giotto laughed and patted his friend's back.

"G, let's go inside. People will notice if the two of you start a shouting contest."

_It's already started… _Tsuna thought.

G grunted. "I'm done screaming at this mini-me. Instead, I think I'll grill the two of them dry."

Giotto winced. "That might not be a good idea, G. After all, knowing things you shouldn't isn't good for you," he said as he stepped through the door.

"I know when to stop," G grumbled. "I still want to know what happened to my collection afterwards!"

"What collection?" Tsuna braved to ask when Giotto just stared at his friend.

"I'm sure it's long gone. They probably didn't even keep a record of it."

"Why wouldn't they?" His weapons collection was perfectly fine and normal, thank you very much.

"Because they probably haven't even _found _it."

"Ano…" _What collection are you talking about?_ Tsuna wanted to ask again but he felt like he would be pushing his luck.

"Mind your own business," G said and stalked off to Giotto's study.

"Oh! Gokudera-kun, good morning," Kiku said in surprise. "I thought it was you I heard just now."

"Good morning, Kiku-san. How are you?" he replied politely.

"Fine, thank you," Kiku said with a smile. "Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

"No, I already ate. I just came by to talk to those three back there."

Kiku looked behind the tall man to see her husband, Tsunayoshi-kun, and another young man who looked like he had eaten a very sour lime.

"And who is this?"

Giotto cleared his throat. "This is Hayato-kun. He's…" then Giotto figured out the best solution ever: "…He is a relative of Gokudera's. He came for a visit."

"_WHAT?" _three voices shouted as one.

Tsuna couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did his ancestor know what he was doing? He sincerely hoped he did.

Gokudera couldn't complain if it was Vongola Primo talking, but still…it burned his insides to think that he was even related to that man, his rival of being the best right hand man!

G scowled at his friend's sudden declaration. He already had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this Gokudera Hayato.

Kiku narrowed her eyes at the four of them and locked eyes with her husband. _Yes, that is very believable, my love,_ she thought.

Giotto sighed and shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish smile. _Worth a try,_ he thought when he guessed that she had seen through him.

She placed a smile on her face and insisted that they must have breakfast and yes, that was including the two Gokuderas.

"Ienari, why don't you play in the yard…no. Better yet, go back to sleep."

"But kaa-chan—"

"Off to bed, Ienari. You're asleep on your feet. This is what you get for going on those adventures of yours so early. At least wait until the sun is up."

"But then kaa-chan and tou-chan will be awake, and it's not fun like that," Ienari protested as his mother herded him to his room.

"Now, Ienari. Kaa-chan isn't going to ask again."

"Haaai…"

* * *

Gokudera didn't truly accept being in the past until he saw the houses when he left the forest. Sure, Juudaime and the Ienari kid's clothing were a bit off, including Juudaime's bandages, but he could find those things in the modern world as well. However, he wasn't about to doubt his boss so he went along with it.

It was an entirely different matter when they entered the town though—the houses, the animals, and the road…he was definitely in the past. There was no way what he was seeing was part of modern day Namimori, since there wouldn't be any insulation in the houses that were built with more wood than cement and bricks. He even heard chickens in one of the neighbours' backyards.

When they slowed down, Gokudera noticed that they were heading towards a medium sized house that was very close to the forest.

A rather tall and lean man had his back against the door frame leading to the inside of the house. His blond hair suggested that he wasn't from around the area, but that hair style meant more than that to Gokudera. He could recognise that face no matter how long it might have been since the last portrait he sat down for.

This was Vongola Primo in the flesh. Gokudera guessed that he was in his early or mid thirties. He was in such awe that he missed the beginning of Primo's conversation with his boss. But he did remember to introduce himself.

It was then that he saw his ultimate rival, G. Sure, he had admired the man but that was before he met him as a spirit. From then on, G was his rival.

He too looked older. He still had his red hair and tattoo and eyes that could turn as cold as ice when he wished.

After grudgingly agreeing to not cause Primo too much trouble, Gokudera followed Juudaime into Giotto's study.

The study was simple and sparse. His eyes flew to the bookcase in the corner the moment he stepped in. To his left was a sliding door that probably led to the yard.

Giotto seated himself on one of the cushions and G sat next to him. Gokudera sat across from G while Juudaime sat to Gokudera's right, across from Primo.

* * *

"What happened?" Giotto asked, directing the question to Tsuna.

Tsuna stole a glance at G and Gokudera before answering Giotto's question.

"Ienari wanted me to go with him on his, well, adventure. So I went with him but before we got very far, I tripped over Gokudera-kun, who was lying on the ground—sorry, Gokudera-kun, I didn't see you there—then we went to a stream so Gokudera could cover get bandaged up—"

"What do you mean?" G interrupted. "Bandaged up?"

"He was injured when we found him," Tsuna said with a worried frown. "It was from the attack during the inheritance ceremony…" it was probably best that he didn't remind the storm guardian about the broken rings.

_It looks like they were in the thick of things,_ Giotto thought with remorse. "Please continue, Tsunayoshi-kun," he said.

"Then Ienari just shouted out _bear-chan_ and we went after him."

G let out a surprised snort. "Bear-chan?"

Giotto smiled.

"And…we ran all the way back here after that."

Giotto and G turned looked at each other.

"So, this kid is also part of the Vongola then?" G asked.

"I'm Juudaime's right hand man!" Gokudera shouted and slammed his palm to the floor. "Of course I'm in the Vongola! I'll have you know that I'll be the best right hand man that's ever been made in Vongola's history!"

Tsuna became embarrassed when Gokudera called him Juudaime in front of Primo and G. He just wasn't used to it!

"Yeah right, maybe in ten or twenty years," G said with a sneer. "With that hot head of yours you won't be going anywhere."

Gokudera's face grew hot with anger. "WHAT?!"

"He's actually toned down his temper a lot!" Tsuna said quickly, defending his friend. "It's a lot better than when we first met."

"One day I'll beat even you, Primo's right hand man!"

"Sure," G said easily and gestured a hand towards Gokudera. "You're welcome to. That is, if you _can."_

Giotto elbowed G's gut. _Stop provoking him,_ was Giotto's message. G just smirked.

"I'll make you regret those words," Gokudera promised and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'll definitely become the best right hand man for Vongola, the strongest, most respected, and top mafia family in the entire world!"

_Hiiiie! He said it,_ Tsuna thought and inwardly clutched at his head and ran in circles. _He said it, he said it, he said it!_

Giotto and G's aura became darker as they let those words sink in.

G's smirk slowly faded into a dismayed frown while Giotto just stared at Gokudera.

The silence was so uncomfortable that it made Gokudera wary of what was going to happen. _What, what did I say? _He asked himself.

"Vongola is the strongest mafia family in the world?" Giotto whispered. He thought of all the crime and blood that the mafia was involved in…the plots, assassinations, smuggling…everything that he knew of from his time as the leader of Vongola, from the bosses that continuously tried to tempt him to become a part of the mafia. And the Vongola is at the top of that society now?

"What the hell has Ricardo done…?" G said.

Giotto shook his head silently.

"That damn Alaude must have known. He's been going back and forth for the past few years," G said to Giotto.

"We can't be sure of that," Giotto said softly but somewhere in his consciousness he was agreeing with G.

G glared at Tsuna who started sweating.

"It's not my fault! I swear I won't let it go down that path any more if I can prevent it!" Tsuna said.

That brought Giotto back. He asked Tsuna the simple question that was on his mind. "How?"

"I-I…"

"_Breakfast is ready,"_ Kiku said from the other side of the screen.

Giotto stared into Tsuna's eyes as if he was reading his thoughts. "We'll be right there," Giotto called back and stood. "Let's go, G."

G stayed seated. "But Giotto—"

"Come on."

G gave Gokudera and Tsuna another glare before following Giotto out.

When they were alone, Gokudera turned to Tsuna. "Juudaime…what did you mean when you said that you'll stop it from going down that path? Did you mean that you'll make the Vongola stop being part of the mafia?"

Tsuna shuddered. He didn't tell anyone about what he experienced during the trial he faced with all the previous Vongola bosses in history.

"Gokudera-kun…while we were in the future, I was trapped inside Hibari-san's spike ball."

Gokudera nodded. "Yeah I remember that."

"While I was in there, I had this vision. It was everything the Vongola did in history. All the killing and other sins they committed. Then they said that I must accept the sins of the Vongola if I wanted the powers that were given to the successor—if I wanted the proof of the Vongola. But I told them that I won't use the powers they gave me if they wanted me to inherit their mistakes…"

Gokudera cheered for his boss silently. That was exactly something his boss would say. He fought for his friends, not some power.

"…So I told the ghosts that I would rather destroy the Vongola than use their powers for evil."

"J-Juudaime!" Gokudera yelped as though he were scorched by a hot flame. "Destroy the _Vongola?"_

"'_To flourish or to perish'," _Tsuna said, quoting the words he remembered Vongola Primo say to him during the Trials. "It's up to me now. I choose to help the Vongola grow into something good again."

* * *

Outside the room, Giotto and G listened to the conversation. Giotto jutted his chin towards the room where they ate. G followed his friend.

"So the Vongola has really stooped so low as to kill for a profit."

Giotto didn't reply. He couldn't.

"The Trial? Have you heard of that before?" G asked.

"No."

"Well it seems like this Vongola Decimo might be useful after all," G grumbled, "if what he said there is true."

Giotto smiled slightly. "I hope he will do as he promises."

"…Is it safe to leave them alone in your study?"

Giotto stopped walking. He was half way turning to return to his study but stopped himself. He wasn't in his home back in Italy. He didn't have mountains of secret reports in his study, nor did he have anything sensitive in there. He left that all behind.

"I don't have anything important in there anyways."

"But your letters with Cozart…"

Giotto shrugged. "They're letters. Cozart would have coded them if it was major. But we're both in hiding, and we don't associate ourselves with the mafia anymore."

"Except for _that_ one," G said, thinking of Daemon.

Giotto sighed. "Except him. And I would hope that Tsunayoshi-kun would just ask me about anything he wants to know about this time. It's his right to, since he will be taking over the Vongola."

"Kids are foolish. If you're not careful, they might try sneaking into your study one night. I wouldn't put it past the Hayato kid to try something like that."

Giotto shrugged. "It will be a sad day when I can't find out if two kids are trying to sneak into my study, wouldn't it?"

"It's happened before," G muttered under his breath. Giotto faltered.

"That only happened once."

"It still happened."

"…"

Giotto stopped by at Ienari's room to see if his son was still in bed. When he found the room empty, he continued on. He heard Tsunayoshi and Hayato behind them, so he knew that they weren't trying to look around his study…today.

"I"ve been meaning to ask them," G said quietly as he sat down. "They don't seem to be the best candidates. How did the boss and CEDEF end up agreeing? Who were the other candidates?"

"You will have to ask them that question," Giotto said.

And that is exactly what G did when they finished breakfast. They were back in Giotto's study, with Kiku taking care of Ienari for the day.

When Giotto said that they should tell the others about Gokudera's sudden appearance, G growled and said, "You can tell them later. I'm not waiting any longer. I want some answers."

Giotto had shrugged.

"S-So what'd you want to ask?" Tsuna said anxiously.

"How were you chosen as a candidate?" G said. "What happened to the others? You're just a kid. There's no way they chose you as their first option."

"I wish they didn't choose me at all," Tsuna muttered too quiet for anyone to hear.

"Huh? What'd you say?"

"Nothing!" Tsuna shook his head at G and said, "There were a few other candidates, but they uh…they met bad ends. I'd rather not speak of it at all…

"I think it was that grand—I mean, the ninth and my dad chose me as the successor, but the ninth was kidnapped and someone else took his place and said instead that they chose the ninth's adopted son as the heir."

Giotto's eyes widened as he heard two things: one that Tsuna mentioned his father, and two, that the chosen heir ended up being the ninth's adopted son._  
_

"The ninth was kidnapped?" G asked in dismay. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Don't diss the ninth!" Gokudera said. "He was probably betrayed by someone and then he was too weak to fight back!"

G assumed from the tone that 'diss' was offensive but what it truly meant escaped him.

"Yeah, and? What happened? So the Vongola Rings were split and trials were given. Go on, how did you guys sway them? You must have been a pretty good convincer."

Gokudera and Tsuna looked startled.

"T-Trials? Sway? Convince them? What are you talking about?" Tsuna exclaimed and shot to his feet.

Giotto and G were getting a bad feeling about this.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, what did you do after receiving your half of the rings?"

"You mean after we were almost killed by the opposing side?" Gokudera asked with anger clear on his face, "With no warning that there was even a disagreement in the choosing of candidates?"

"We-We had a battle…several battles to determine who would be the guardians," Tsuna said in a hollowed voice. "You mean…that's not what's supposed to happen? My friends were all injured and hospitalised when we could have avoided it?"

"What happened?" G asked again.

Tsuna sat back down and taking turns, he and Gokudera gave them a summary of the Ring Battles from the time Tsuna received the rings from Basil to the moment when Xanxus was defeated.

"That is wrong," G said immediately after they finished. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad you came to the past. You have no idea how many things we have to make you two relearn about the Vongola. In fact, I think I'm going to enjoy it," G said and cracked his knuckles.

It must have been Tsuna's imagination, because there was no way there could be a volcano erupting from behind G, shadowing his eyes and causing them to look like evil stars, and that could _not_ have been an evil laugh coming out from G's wide, toothy smile.

Tsuna stopped panicking long enough to think of something that just occurred to him. If G said they were going to relearn some things about the Vongola, could it be possible that the incident between the Shimon and Vongola really _was_ a misunderstanding and the truth was just buried in the past?

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers (I forgot to reply to you guys in ch6. Sorry! ^^;;):**

**- Great: **I was planning to do most questions, but after one of the questions (I forget which one) I just got carried away.

**- tsuna: **Thank you!

**- Lady Ariadna: **Yes…side story indeed! :D Maybe I'll work on it sometime after I'm finished with this. And, who knows? Will Tsuna know the truth before he returns, or will he not? ;D Haha! That's for me to know and you to find out.

**- **ch5 **yuuna. suichi****: **I have to agree—G _is_ pretty awesome.

* * *

P.S: If you have some spare time, please go to my profile and vote on my poll on tragedies. Thanks! :D **_-2013-08-20th_**

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-08-07th**_

_**Edited 2013-08-08th (thanks, **_**Great_!)_**


	8. Ch 8: This Is Not My Day

**A/N: **Yes yes, this is a very late update and I'm so sorry for that! I got a bit too caught up with other things including a road block.

Excuse me if Knuckle doesn't sound like a priest.

* * *

_**Previously**_

_"That is wrong," G said immediately after they finished. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad you came to the past. You have no idea how many things we have to make you two relearn about the Vongola. In fact, I think I'm going to enjoy it," G said and cracked his knuckles._

_It must have been Tsuna's imagination, because there was no way there could be a volcano erupting from behind G, shadowing his eyes and causing them to look like evil stars, and that could not have been an evil laugh coming out from G's wide, toothy smile._

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"He's joking, right?" Gokudera said when G left the study.

"I honestly don't know," Giotto said with a small smile. "If G wants to teach you about the Vongola, I have nothing against it, but I don't know if he'll want to waste time on you two."

When the two of them just stared at him, Giotto sighed. "That's just what he'd say. It didn't come out of my mouth." Giotto hummed and said, "No, actually I believe he will give the two of you a lecture."

"H-How can you be sure of that?" Gokudera asked.

Giotto just smiled. "I'm sure because I know him well, Hayato-kun. He will be back before you know it."

"Eh? Ieyasu, are you still here?" Kiku said from the open doorway. She was carrying a basket.

Giotto frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you left for the lord's castle." Kiku raised her eyebrows. "You have work today, if you have forgotten."

Giotto groaned. "With everything going on, that is exactly what happened I'm afraid."

Kiku shook her head with a sigh.

Giotto smiled at the two teenagers. "Excuse me."

Tsuna waved a hand. "It-It's okay!"

Gokudera bowed in his seat. "Have a nice day, Primo!"

"Sawada is fine," Giotto said for the second time.

"Hai, Primo."

Giotto sighed but chuckled. "Just…be careful when you call me that then, Hayato-kun," he said. "Now, why don't you go and busy yourselves with something? It's going to be quite boring before you find a way to return yourselves to the future."

Tsuna fumbled to rise quickly. "We'll try our best!" he and Gokudera hurried out the room and Giotto closed the door behind him.

"Ieyasu," Kiku called softly from their room. He tilted his head as he walked towards her.

"Yes?"

"You _will_ tell me what's going on."

Giotto backed up but she simply leaned in so that they were nose to nose. "Uh—"

"I don't mind feeding those boys, but I need to know what is going on. First Tsunayoshi-kun is found nearly dead on the road and now this boy, Hayato-kun, comes for a visit?"

"Well…"

"From Gokudera and Hayato-kun's reaction to you saying that they are relatives, I have to wonder…"

Giotto sighed. "You found me out. But they _are _related somehow," he finished quickly. "Look at their faces—they are so similar, they just _have _to be related!"

Kiku cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I see that. But where did he and Tsunayoshi-kun come from, Ieyasu?"

Giotto looked at her from the side. He didn't make a habit of lying to his wife. He fully trusted her to anything he might say. _She's right, _Giotto thought. _She's doing so much for them. She's already in this mess. It would be better if she knows what this mess really is, even if I don't really understand it either. _

"Would you believe me if I told you that they are our descendants who time travelled into the past?"

His wife gave him a blank look.

"_Tsuna-nii! Come and listen! Asari-ojisan taught me how to play the flute!"_ Kiku glanced outside to see her son pulling onto the older boy's sleeve. She then looked back to her husband.

"Tsunayoshi-kun and Hayato-kun are—?" She looked into his eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. If anyone asked her how, she wouldn't have an answer for them. She just knew. "I…believe you."

Giotto nodded and held her arms. "Will you keep this a secret?" he asked her. "To keep them safe?"

"Safe from what?" she whispered back.

"If it gets out that they are from the future and that they are related to me and G, it will cause problems."

Kiku nodded. "I'll keep it a secret. I can promise you that."

Giotto gave her a smile. "Thanks."

Kiku became flustered for a second. "Now be off before the lord decides that you need some discipline," she said and ushered him through the door. "Worse, he might dismiss you."

Giotto laughed. "I'm too smart! He can't afford to fire me."

She watched him as he strolled down the road towards the lord's castle. Then she turned to study the two apparent time travellers.

Tsunayoshi-kun _did_ look a bit like her husband despite having brown hair, brown eyes in contrast to Ieyasu's blond hair and golden eyes.

…But only a little. If she wasn't purposely looking for any similarities, she wouldn't have found any.

Someone cleared his throat behind her. Kiku turned around and saw G enter the yard. "Gokudera, that was fast," she commented with a smile. G nodded.

"I have to teach those two a few things. They know so little—or they know the wrong things…it really annoys me."

"Go easy on them, ne?"

G gave her a shrug. "Sure, I'll go easy on them." As he began to walk towards the boys, Kiku realised that her definition of 'easy' might be very different than G's.

* * *

"Hey, you good for nothing cheeky children, it's time for your lesson."

Tsuna, Gokudera, and Ienari turned to look at the man who towered over them.

"Gokudera-ojisan!"

Gokudera had the most uncomfortable look on his face as Ienari greeted G with his alias. "That just makes _me_ sound old," Gokudera muttered. "Why did he choose that name anyways?"

Tsuna smiled hesitantly, not sure how to answer his friend.

"When are your lessons?" G asked Ienari. The boy thought for a moment trying to remember.

"_OKAA-SAAAAAN!"_ Ienari shouted in his high pitched childish voice.

"What's the matter?" she asked from where she was.

"Gokudera-ojisan is asking when my lessons are," Ienari said.

"Soon. Why don't you help kaa-san with this and we'll get started afterwards?" Kiku answered, gesturing towards the basket still in her hands.

Ienari complied and ran to his mother after giving the rest of them a wave.

"Alright, come with me," G said gruffly and stalked off towards the forest.

Gokudera and Tsuna quickly got to their feet to chase the man who gave no warning that he was leaving.

"Where are we going?" Gokudera asked as he followed. He was never one to follow another without questioning their motives first. Gokudera follows no one blindly.

G approved of the boy silently at his question but held it in.

"Somewhere private," G said tartly.

"What, so you can torture us to death!?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea but no."

"Why you…!"

"Gokudera-kun! He didn't mean it," Tsuna said, feeling that Gokudera was taking G's taunting words far too seriously.

_He is still too easy to provoke though. _G stopped with one foot resting on a fallen tree trunk. He looked behind his shoulder at the two boys. "Hurry up. The two of you are starting to lag behind."

"H-Hai!"

"Che. Shouldn't I at least be able to settle in before doing all this?" Gokudera muttered. "I've only been here for a few hours.

G glared. "I don't care if you've been here for five seconds, brat. The sooner you know everything, the sooner you'll leave—if you were brought here for information, that is."

"W-We were? Hiiee!" Tsuna stumbled and fell flat on his face.

"Juudiame!"

"…I don't know what you're here for. We are trying anything we could think of to get you two out of our hair," G grumbled.

He shook his head and turned right. When Tsuna and Gokudera walked to where G was just standing moments ago, they lost him.

"Where'd he go?" Tsuna asked in dismay. "He disappeared!"

"There's no trail here," Gokudera said.

Instead, it was a dead end with a tree blocking their path along with plenty of overgrown grass and bushes.

Suddenly they heard rustling coming from the trees.

"_Hiiiiiie!"_ Tsuna screamed and jumped a metre backwards. "Something's in there!"

Gokudera's dynamite was out in seconds, guarding his boss from any danger. The rustling grew louder. It was getting closer and closer until a pale hand brushed aside the greenery. The high trees caused a shadow to fall upon the figure with a red tattoo on his face.

"What the hell are you two waiting for?" G said impatiently. "I don't have all day."

The boys relaxed and stared at the well hidden entrance. G disappeared again when he removed his raised hand and they were beyond shocked to find that he was completely gone.

Hesitantly, Gokudera reached out and pushed aside the branches to reveal a small trail. He beamed and turned to Tsuna.

"Juudaime, look at this! It's like some sort of secret hideout!"

"Y-Yeah, it is!"

"Let's go in." Gokudera held the branches clear to Tsuna could enter without being whacked by them.

G was waiting on the other side with an annoyed look on his face.

"What is so impressive about that?"

Gokudera glared. "It wasn't impressive at all," he said with a snarl.

"It's really well hidden," Tsuna said. "I wouldn't have found it if G-san wasn't leading us…"

G snorted. "Come on." He continued walking deeper into this strangely quiet and peaceful area of the forest Tsuna had never seen before. He was pretty sure that Ienari hasn't discovered this place yet either.

The trail wasn't really a dirt trail. It was more like a section that was continuously stepped on until the grass had flattened out, in the midst of grass that grew as high as their waist. Similar to the outside, old trees were rooted to their spots in the ground.

Birds continued to chirp, insects continued to fly around, and the sun continued to shine…the only difference was that there was a table and stools in the form of rocks, right in the middle of everything else.

Or at least that was what Tsuna first assumed they were.

"Sit down."

_Okay so this is a table,_ Tsuna thought as he and Gokudera took a seat on the shorter rocks while G sat across from them with a big rock that had a flat surface between them.

"Right. So we'll start now. I don't care if you think you know something, but you are _not_ going to interrupt me, understand?"

They nodded.

G began with what he thought was the largest misunderstanding they revealed: "About the Half-Vongola Rings."

Tsuna sat straighter.

"Giotto never wanted the candidates to fight against each other to determine the owner of the rings. The third or fourth boss probably made that up," G muttered under his breath. "Hell, maybe it was Ricardo himself. Who knows what happened." He shifted in his seat.

"So…exactly what happens when the two leaders disagree on a candidate?" Tsuna asked timidly. G glared at him but continued.

"Nothing really," G said. "The Vongola is a vigilant group created to help those who need it. So obviously the next leader is meant to also take up that responsibility. If there is a disagreement, they simply have to prove that they are the right ones to lead the Vongola. Since it's a vigilant group, yes, there will be some fighting involved. But that is not what we are all about. We are about keeping peace.

"You have no idea how many times we were able to avoid fighting because of Giotto's smooth tongue. Surprisingly, it was the talking that usually convinced people to kill us another day. We talked our way out of all sorts of things. It was a big deal to be able to avoid fighting at all costs. Sadly, that is not always avoidable so we learned to fight and to fight well but we never harmed an innocent."

"So the candidates have to know how to talk their way out of things?" Gokudera asked with his eyebrows knitted together.

G rolled his eyes. "They have to have a sense of diplomacy."

"_Diplomacy?"_ they stared at G as though he was sprouting nonsense.

"Maybe that's not the right word," G sighed. "But that's the best description. Not all the guardians will handle _diplomacy _the same way. That's also the job of the guardians: to see how the candidates will handle certain situations. The trials that are held for the candidates usually revolve around those things and some combat skills.

"The guardians and boss of the current generation will be the ones to hold those trials, though they do not tell the candidates what the trial is exactly. The guardians will observe the candidates for a while. Perhaps they will approach them in some way to test them further. It seems like your stupid, idiotic, pathetic generation has forgotten about the former part of the trials."

Tsuna sweat dropped. _H-He didn't need to put it that way,_ he thought.

"Hey! Easy on the _'stupid, idiotic, pathetic generation'_! We're nothing like that. If anything, you're acting more idiotic than anyone I know," Gokudera shouted.

"_Hm?_ You want to say that again, _boy?"_ G said with both palms flat on the rock and his face leaning in.

Gokudera copied his stance. "Bring it on, _baka!"_

Tsuna waved his arms frantically trying to get them to stop. "Um, guys!"

G rose in his seat and gave Gokudera and Tsuna a smack on the head. "I'll make you regret you ever spoke those words," G promised viciously.

"Ite…" Tsuna winced. "What was that for? I didn't say anything!"

"Did you say something?" G asked darkly. Tsuna stilled. For a second, he thought he was back at home, where Reborn was doing the training and he could usually get away with one snarky comment if his tutor was in a forgiving mood.

"N-No…"

"I can't believe you hit Juudaime. I'll make you pay for that! What kind of right hand man hits another boss on the head?" Gokudera pointed an accusing finger at G.

"He's nothing but a boy! And besides, he's not born yet in this time so I can hit him however much I want so long that the information stays in his head," G said.

Tsuna glanced at the bushes. Did he just see movement? He shook his head and turned back to the conversation. But his head snapped back to the bushes a second later. "Guys…"

"Well I won't allow it!"

"Hiiiiie! G-Guys, someone's coming!"

Both Storm Guardians stopped snarling at each other long enough to listen.

"Hear that?" Tsuna asked in a shaky voice. "Who—what is coming?"

G rolled his eyes skywards. "Oh come on."

Lampo lazily walked towards the table and stopped in front of them to observe Gokudera. His sandals made no sound as he walked.

"_What_ are you doing?" G demanded. "You idiot spoiled brat?"

Lampo shrugged and kept one eye shut as he answered. "Ore-sama just wandered by before going to Ugetsu's house. Ore-sama wanted to see the new one who dropped in."

"There's nothing good to see so get out," G snapped and gave Lampo a nudge but the green haired man stayed. "How do you know about it anyways?"

"Giotto," he said. His eyes didn't leave Gokudera. "Amazing, he looks as grouchy as you do. How are you related again?"

Gokudera opened his mouth to snap out a reply but Lampo continued talking. "Ore-sama knows that Tsunayoshi is Giotto's great-great-great grandson, but what about you? How are you related to G?"

G and Gokudera shouted out at the same time, "We're not related!"

Lampo glanced at the two of them. "Yare yare, I don't need another loud mouth in my life. You should just go home," he added as an afterthought to Gokudera.

"Go away," G said with a glare. "I'm trying to teach them a lesson!"

"Lesson? What lesson?"

"Just about the Half-Vongola Rings," G muttered and settled down when it became clear that Lampo wasn't going to leave.

Lampo nodded and yawned. Then he snapped to attention and narrowed his eyes at G. "Ore-sama was never able to host a trial."

"It's not my fault," G said. "It was different in our case."

"How do you know that they'll even follow through with the tradition now anyways?" Lampo asked.

Tsuna and Gokudera turned their heads to G.

_They don't,_ G thought to himself. "Just…get out of here, lightning boy."

"One more question," Lampo said.

G rolled his eyes. "Spit it out. I don't have all day."

Lampo glowered at him before facing the two boys with a carefully masked expression. "Other than this sort of time travel…do others exist?"

They instantly thought of the ten-year bazooka, the source of most of the troubles…which was currently in the hands of a five year old boy.

G gave Lampo a warning glare. _Don't push too far you idiot. Who knows what you might find? Isn't it bad enough to know that the Vongola got so out of hand?_ G stopped himself in mid thought. Lampo didn't know about that little detail at all. In fact, he didn't think to tell the rest of them. A trickle of guilt entered his mind but he brushed it off.

Gokudera crossed his arms across his chest. "Why should we tell you?" he asked.

Lampo mirrored his actions. "Because ore-sama wants to know," he replied defiantly and looked down his nose at Gokudera. "So tell me."

"We can't reveal too much about the future so we can't tell you anything," Gokudera snapped. _Tch! This guy reminds me too much of that stupid cow. _

Lampo sighed inwardly. "I was just asking. No need to get all snappy about it."

_There can't be a big problem with telling him, _Tsuna tried to reason. _He already knows that we're from the future so he knows it's possible. Besides, what's he going to do with the information anyways? But then again, because of that there's no reason to tell him, so the less he knows the…better? Mou, I'm so confused!_

"Could I _please_ get on with the next subject?" G had to raise his voice to be heard over Gokudera's shouting and Lampo's bored retorts and Tsuna's occasional yelp and attempts to calm his Storm Guardian.

"This boy had no respect for his elders!" Lampo burst out. "None at all!"

"Why should I give you any respect, you green headed idiot?" Gokudera shouted.

G covered his face with a hand.

"Anyone who is older than me is my enemy!"

Lampo had an astonished look on his face. "Get real!" he cried out.

"_STOP IT."_

Lampo and Gokudera both froze where they were at G's calm words—Lampo, because he recognised it; Gokudera because he saw the fear in Lampo's eyes.

Gokudera slowly turned so he could see G. The man seemed to have a dark cloud hanging over his head.

Tsuna panicked and stood up. "Gokudera-kun, Lampo-san, maybe we shouldn't argue too much now, ne? It's…not the right time. Lampo-san, didn't you say that you had to go to Asari-san's house?"

"Ah-Ah," Lampo cleared his throat. "Ore-sama did say that. Ore-sama will be leaving now." He looked at Tsuna gratefully and walked out as casual as anyone could after almost being killed by G.

G let out a breath. "Finally…" he muttered. Then he glared at Gokudera. "Any more from you and I will tie your legs to that rock," he said and pulled out a folder from within his layers of clothing. He placed it gently on the table and laid his hand on top of it. He looked hesitant to speak for a few seconds.

He studied the two boys again before saying, "In here are…a few more things that Giotto came up with while we were all forming the Vongola."

"A-A few…?" Tsuna said and gawked at the thickness of the file. It was at least two inches thick.

"You actually kept them?" Gokudera asked in dismay, his previous retort forgotten.

G gave him a bored look. "Lesson number two: make copies of all files. This," he tapped a finger on said file, "is a copy. There's a lot in here, and a lot more from where it came from. When you return, you might be interested in a few things that it mentions. I'm not saying you're going to find anything, but who knows?" he said with a shrug. "After all, it's been a few generations between our times so a lot must have changed."

"Thanks for telling us," Tsuna said and carefully opened the folder before shutting it. "What is this?! It's in Italian—I can't read Italian!"

G hit his forehead to the rock and kept it there. "Wonderful. Here we have boss who does not know Italian. That's wonderful." He slammed his fist into the rock as if it was nothing and raised his head. "_HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW ITALIAN?"_

_Hiieee! I don't want to be a boss in the first place!_ Tsuna wanted to say.

"It's in Italian," G muttered under his breath so they couldn't hear him mimicking Tsuna. "Oh, why is it in Italian? I don't know why it's written in Italian—oh now I remember—maybe because most of the people living in Italy learned how to speak Italian!"

G pointed at Gokudera. "Tell me you at least know Italian…"

"Of course I do!" Gokudera shouted. "Me and that Pineapple Head are probably the only two who know Italian among the guardians…"

"Oh god, I forgot that there are more of you," G said.

"I don't think that they'll be appearing," Tsuna said with a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"You better be sure of that. I don't think I can stand any more of you."

"H-Hai, I'm pretty sure," Tsuna said confidently. G nodded.

"Now…" G was interrupted again by some rustling of the bushes. "Now _what?"_

"Just harmless old me," Asari called out cheerfully before he rounded the corner. His hat was what they saw first, then his blue and white clothing.

"What is it?" G asked quickly. "No time. Get to it."

"I heard from Lampo that someone named Gokudera Hayato appeared out of _thin air."_

"I didn't tell him anything about the 'thin air' part," G said. "He's making things up again."

Asari shrugged. "Hello, Hayato-kun. I'm Asari Ugetsu."

"It's a pleasure to meet Primo's Rain Guardian!" Gokudera said. G stared at the boy in dismay.

"And why did I not get that reaction?" he asked looking from one face to another.

"Che! Because you're my rival! I decided that long before I time traveled," Gokudera said with defiant eyes.

G pointed to himself and looked at him sceptically. "Have we…met before?"

Gokudera silently turned his head away. "Tch. No," he lied.

G narrowed his eyes but shrugged it away. It didn't matter. "Anyways, have you looked through the file yet?"

Tsuna and Gokudera both stared at the closed file between them at those words. "Eto…"

G swore. "At least look over it!"

"Maa, maa…G, there's no reason to be so harsh on them," Asari said soothingly.

"They're getting on my nerves," G said to his friend. "Their knowledge of the Vongola is pitiful."

Meanwhile, Gokudera was busy translating the notes to his boss so he missed G's insult towards his knowledge.

"So this part over here…" Gokudera stretched out the words as he struggled to read the text and translate. "…is talking about how Primo solved a few of the more troubling problems…they were good ideas, since they all ended peacefully and all parties were satisfied…Juudaime, are you following me?"

"H-Hai, Gokudera-kun."

* * *

"Can you believe that I had to explain the Half-Vongola Rings to them?" G asked. "They thought that they were supposed to have some sort of battle with the rings as the trophy."

Asari gave G an odd look. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

"Hai, hai. But G, that tradition hasn't exactly been… _tradition_ yet so you can't blame them for losing it."

* * *

Tsuna looked over another sheet of paper and brought Gokudera's attention to it. "Gokudera-kun, what does this say?"

Gokudera glanced at the paper and looked over it quickly. "_'Today after speaking with Rosso I decided to look into something he mentioned. I sent…' _Juudaime, this is cut off," Gokudera said and pointed. "But it looks like a journal of some sort."

* * *

Still speaking to Asari, G snorted and looked at the two boys. "Well what do you think of those two?" he asked Asari.

Asari sighed and said, "They seem kind."

"…_Kind?"_

"I mean that they are not a danger to us. Despite Hayato-kun's outer appearance, he is a good boy."

"Hard to see that," G said.

Asari looked like he wanted to laugh. "I would say the same about you, G."

"No way."

"Whatever you say, G. You keep thinking that. But Hayato-kun and Tsunayoshi-kun both have strong flames in them. I can't feel the end of their growth yet. It might be endless."

G looked at him wide-eyed. "That," he said, "is horrifying."

* * *

"But whose journal would this be?" Tsuna asked. "And why is it in this pile?"

"I don't know, Juudaime. But it looks like it might've been put here by accident. The page is smaller than the other ones the bastard gave us."

"You're right!" Tsuna said in surprise. "Maybe there are more pages?" he suggested.

He and Gokudera began to sift the papers to find anything else that looked like the journal entry Gokudera had in front of him.

After a few minutes, they fixed the pile. "Nothing," Gokudera said.

"Oh well," Tsuna said with a smile. "We shouldn't look for other people's things anyways."

* * *

"How long until Alaude returns?" Asari asked in a low tone.

G said, "A few days, if everything goes as planned… What are they looking for?" G was frowning at the two boys which caused Asari to become curious. He saw that they were looking through the pages much too quickly to be actually reading them, and he happened to hear from G that Tsunayoshi didn't know how to read Italian. So what were they doing?

Then he saw them finish and Gokudera picking up a single piece of paper instead.

"What is that?" G asked.

"Hiie! It-It's just…a journal…entry?" Tsuna said as though he was answering a very tough question.

G frowned and plucked the paper from the Storm Guardian. He instantly recognised the handwriting. _Rosso. Who is that again? Rosso…Rosso…Rosso…oh, Rosso Cider. Why is this…?_

G handed the paper over to Asari without a word. Asari read over the words himself and let out a "Huh."

"Was this in the pile?" G asked. They nodded uncertainly. G and Asari exchanged questioning looks. Why was that page ripped out of its binding?

"Oi! Was that not supposed to be in here?" Gokudera asked when no one said anything.

"I must have placed it in there by mistake," G said and put the paper away in one of his many pockets.

"Ano…if you don't mind us asking," Tsuna said carefully, "what is it for?"

"None of your business," G said with an air of finality.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Asari suddenly said in a very friendly voice.

Tsuna jumped in his seat when he realised that he was being addressed.

"Does anyone still use swords in your time period?"

"S-Swords?" Tsuna squeaked out.

Asari nodded. "Yes, I know that it must be strange for me to ask."

"U-Uh, well…yeah, there are a few." Tsuna wasn't sure where this conversation was headed.

Asari smiled lightly. "I see."

G felt a tick coming. "Why are you even asking them that?"

Asari smiled at his friend. "Only another swordsman will understand the power that comes with wielding a blade. I was only wondering if there are others who still chose to use a sword to protect others."

"Tch."

"O-One of my best friends uses a sword," Tsuna said with a frown. He wasn't following the Rain Guardian's explanation at all.

"Ah," Asari said with a big smile. "I wish I could meet him. Too bad, too bad."

"Don't you _dare_ wish for anything like that," G said quickly.

Asari laughed and stepped back a step. "Now, G…would it really be so bad if another one of Tsunayoshi-kun's friends dropped by?" he asked teasingly. "I'll get out of your way now. It was nice meeting you, Hayato-kun." Asari gave him a slight bow which Gokudera returned.

"He's finally gone," G said. "Everyone keeps on interrupting me today. Well?" he demanded. "Any questions?"

"N-No!" Tsuna said.

"Tch. I should have known that you children weren't really involved with the Vongola's main head quarters. You don't seem to know anything at all! The things written in the file is only a small portion of it."

_Th-That's true…we don't know a lot about the Vongola, _Tsuna thought with a gulp.

G continued to pour information into their heads about the Vongola before it was corrupted by the mafia.

When Tsuna complained that he couldn't take in all that information, G simply stood up calmly and punched him in the gut. He flew clear off his seat and to the ground a few metres away.

"It's too bad that you have such a terrible memory," was G's excuse.

"Juudaime! Why you…" Gokudera was pulling out his dynamite when G stopped him with a look.

"Gokudera-kun, it's fine," Tsuna said reassuringly and took his seat again. He carefully prodded the area where G landed his punch. _Strange,_ he thought. _It doesn't hurt._

Seeing that his boss wasn't injured too badly, Gokudera calmed down.

An hour later, G was still talking and they were still forced to listen until they were once again interrupted.

"I swear if one more person barges in here, I will personally bash their head in with a rock," G said venomously at the sight of the priest.

Knuckle sighed at G's wording. "G, promising violence is not what you should be doing on a daily basis."

"I don't. Besides, why aren't you at the Church?"

Knuckle frowned. "Because it is noon. G, did you not rest at all to give these two boys food or water?"

G grumbled under his breath. "No time for that…stupid food…" was what they heard out of it.

Knuckle shook his head at G and smiled welcomingly at the two boys. "Good afternoon, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"G-Good afternoon…"

"So, this is Hayato-kun. It's a pleasure to meet you after Lampo came to the Church to tell me about you."

"And you're Knuckle, the Sun Guardian," Gokudera said carefully. He sincerely hoped that the priest wasn't about to start shouting '_EXTREME!'_ like a certain boxing freak he knew.

"That's the past," Knuckle said with a smile. "So which flame do you use?"

G cocked his head. He hadn't thought to ask that. He just assumed that he used storm flames since he was the Storm Guardian and all.

Gokudera smirked. "I use five flames!"

"_What?"_ G was flabbergasted by that unexpected news.

Gokudera's smirk widened at G's expression. "I use the Storm, Rain, Lightning, Cloud, and Sun flames."

"That is very impressive, Hayato-kun!" Knuckle said.

"Well at least he's not useless," G said with a grunt when he regained his senses. "I still can't imagine what one would do with more than one flame. Only using storm flames is enough for me to defeat an entire group of enemies."

"Using many flames is _very_ useful, but only if a person knows how to combine their strengths," Gokudera said casually.

Tsuna looked from G to Gokudera, sweat rolling down his face. _Why do I get the feeling that they're quietly competing against one another over their abilities to use flames? It doesn't sound like something Gokudera-kun would do at all. Gokudera-kun usually just…_

"Besides," G said, "since I don't have to master all those flames, my storm flames are the most powerful storm flames out there. None can beat them."

"Oh yeah? Well I bet you haven't met someone from the _future_ yet then, have you?"

"Are you challenging me then?" G asked with a wicked grin on his face.

"Hell yeah!" Gokudera shot back and stood.

Knuckle sighed.

"Hiiiiiiie!" _There is is! A challenge…what should I do now?!_ Tsuna pulled at his hair and braced himself for the inevitable fight that was going to occur.

"…Too bad," G suddenly said.

Tsuna opened his eyes and blinked twice.

"I don't feel like fighting someone who will obviously lose to me."

"Who says _I_ will be the one to lose?" Gokudera shouted. "You're just afraid to fight me!"

G tsked and shook a finger at Gokudera with a smirk. "No, I will definitely win. You're not even on my radar."

Gokudera gritted his teeth.

"It's been a while since anyone has baited G into a fight," Knuckle said to Gokudera. "It takes much more than a few taunts nowadays."

Gokudera snarled. "Damn it."

Knuckle muttered under his breath and shook his head sadly. Then he said, "G, don't forget to feed them. It won't do any of us good if they starve."

"Yeah whatever," G said. "Just go if you're going."

Knuckle laughed loudly and patted Gokudera hard on the shoulders. Gokudera winced at each so-called-pat. "Take care, boy. Don't let him bully you!"

Gokudera gingerly rubbed his shoulders when Knuckle left the forest. "Did he have to hit so hard?"

_This is not my day,_ G thought.

"Do-Do we take a break for lunch?" Tsuna asked. G glared.

"You can stand a bit of hunger, can't you?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Then you can skip today's lunch," G said. His eyes held painful promises if they disagreed.

Tsuna thought it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Gokudera himself wasn't that hungry and seeing that Juudaime wasn't complaining, he decided to go along with it. After all, this was information that Juudaime would definitely want to know about.

"Things get a little tricky when we actually got involved with the mafia in certain ways. It's hard to avoid that since vigilant groups are working for the good of the people, but the police officers might not see it that way since we're interfering with their work. Well. Their 'work' is defined as turning a blind eye on the people in the slums, not protecting those who can't afford it, et cetera."

"That's unbelievable!" Tsuna said. "The police back at home don't do that! At least…I don't think they do."

G shrugged. "Other than protecting the people so they won't have to pay the police any extra tax, we have…areas that we protect. It's very similar to the mafia, which is why the police automatically thought that we were a mafia family in the beginning. We don't require the people to give us anything. We protect them even if they're as poor as the fish in the pond. Many of our members were from those families in the slums and towns that we protect so they have personal reasons for joining our cause."

G continued to talk without taking breaks throughout the next hour or so. It came to a point where G had to hit the two of them on the head to keep them from falling asleep. History was _not_ their strong suit, even if they were living in it.

After half an hour, G stopped talking about the different allied mafia families and asked if they had any questions.

Tsuna fingered with his sleeve nervously. "Ano…since we're speaking of families…"

"Just ask the question," G said impatiently when Tsuna hesitated.

Tsuna looked at Gokudera who nodded encouragingly. Tsuna nodded back and asked G, "Have you heard of the Shimon Family?"

G's expression didn't change when he answered. "Of course I have."

When he didn't go on, Tsuna said, "Then you know about them…were they an ally?"

G sighed. "The Shimon is as old as the Vongola. The two families have been friends for a very long time, although most of the time people only see the Vongola and forget the Shimon."

Tsuna and Gokudera looked at each other; they finally had a chance to ask.

"Then the Vongola and Shimon were always friends?"

G narrowed his eyes. "Why the sudden interest?"

Tsuna opened and closed his mouth. He smiled nervously and shrugged. "I…thought that I'd just ask…that's all."

"What happened to the family?" Gokudera asked.

"What do you mean?" G said, stalling for time to gather his thoughts.

"What happened to the family?" Gokudera repeated angrily.

"Why, do they exist in the future?" G wondered.

"We just…heard about them, that's all," Tsuna said.

_This is it…we can finally find out what happened to the Shimon and find out how much of what Enma said is the truth!_ Tsuna tensed and leaned in. "S-So…what happened to the Shimon Family?"

"Nothing."

Tsuna bunched up his brows. "N-Nothing?" _Th-That can't be right! Using them as bait doesn't sound like nothing!_

G cursed. _The Shimon was a small family of fifty members so I didn't think that they would be recorded in detail. What do they know about them? Do they know about how they were "massacred" during the war? _

"What do you know about the Shimon anyways?" G asked, purposely making himself sound slightly annoyed.

"W-Well, not much," Tsuna admitted. "My tutor told us that they're a small family."

"They're a small family, huh?" G muttered under his breath. "So they still exist."

"Hai…but I heard that during a war, Shimon Primo was killed…?" Tsuna said weakly.

He met G's sharp gaze as he finished the sentence.

G could think of only one word to describe his situation: _Trapped. _If he said that Cozart was killed, then these two would go back in time with that knowledge in mind. He wasn't sure why, but these two were treating this question as though their entire life was worth the answer.

However, it was dangerous to reveal the truth to them.

They all stopped staring at each other when they heard someone brush away the branches that hid this spot.

"That's it," G said softly. He leaned down and picked up a fist sized rock. Tsuna's eyes widened when he realised that G was going to go through with his threat of bashing in the head of the next person who appeared. But it was too late.

G pulled back his right arm and threw the rock as hard as he could at the head of the person rounding the bend before Tsuna could shout out a warning.

"Hiiiiiiie! Oh my god you're going to kill him!" Tsuna screamed.

"_HOLY—!"_ the figure shouted in surprise and darted to the right. The rock sailed passed him and a loud crack was heard when it collided against the tree trunk some distance away.

"G! Are you trying to kill me?" the now recognisable voice demanded in shock. Giotto stepped out from the shadows with the rock being tossed up and down in his left hand.

"Who told you to just barge in here while I'm trying to teach them a lesson?" G growled at his best friend.

Giotto sighed and tossed the rock into the overgrown grass. "Are you still at it? I came out here looking when none of you came back."

"What for?" G asked.

Giotto raised his eyebrows. "Why, G! Boys have to eat, don't they? I do not care what you say, but we really have to stop now."

Tsuna wasn't sure whether he should cry tears of joy or of despair. In one hand, G was forcefully putting information into their brains in a very painful way. On the other hand, G might have revealed some more information on the Shimon that they didn't have so far.

Giotto clapped his hands cheerfully and said to Tsuna and Gokudera, "Come, you are released from the hands of evil!"

G cracked a smile at Giotto's dramatics. "Shut up."

Gokudera reached for the folder but G slammed his hand down on it. "Where do you think you're going with that sensitive information, kid?"

Giotto looked down at the file.

Gokudera said in a confused tone, "Don't we get to look at it?"

"Yeah well you don't get to take it back with you!"

"If you haven't noticed, we don't know how to get back to our own time, old man!" Gokudera retorted.

G twitched. _Old man?_ "Fine. But you will _not_ touch the files more than necessary. I don't want you to suddenly go back in time with some sheets still in your hands. If you sleep, you sleep with a metre of distance between you. Same goes for anything else! Don't touch it when you read it. Only touch it if you have to turn the page. Don't—"

"—G, I think they understand," Giotto put in gently. His golden eyes were dancing with amusement. "Honestly, one would think that you're parting with your bow and arrows."

"…Tch." G stood. "We're about done anyways. It has been a _pleasure_ teaching the two of you. Rest assured it will not happen again."

"Oh, _thank god,"_ Gokudera said with as much hate as he could manage into two words.

"Did their relationship improve at all?" Giotto leaned to the side and asked Tsuna as the four of them walked out to the main trail.

Tsuna bit his lip in thought. He shook his head. "No, not at all."

* * *

**A/N: **So! Giotto's wife knows about their time traveling! And Tsuna had finally asked someone about Shimon! Things are finally getting awesome.

...Something just doesn't feel right with this chapter. I can't quite place my finger on it. If anyone could kindly tell me what seems to be the problem with it, I'll be very grateful.

I promise you all that the next chapter will be a bit more exciting! :D

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Lady Ariadna: **Yeah, I had fun writing the part where G taunts him xD

- **Guest: **Thanks for the correction. I really appreciate it :D By the way, when you say the traditional wake-up method, are you talking about the way how Reborn wakes up Tsuna every morning or…?

**- tsuna:** THANKS :D

- **Ros Haruno: **Glad you like this. Thanks :)

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-08-20th**_


	9. Ch 9: Not This Again! Déjà vu for Giotto

**A/N: **I am _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to keep you all in suspense. I just forgot to mention it. None of the other guardians will be appearing! Only Tsuna and Gokudera will be time traveling in this fic. I'm sorry if you were looking forward to the others. But in this one it's just Tsuna and Gokudera.

You ask why I included Gokudera in the first place? Well…I felt that Tsuna needed someone there to be with him to experience the craziness of time travelling.

…

P.S: I hope that everyone reading this has already finished reading the KHR! arc that this fanfic is taking place in? In any case, there's a bit of a =SPOILER ALERT= for those who haven't finished the uh…Inheritance Arc. The one with Shimon (Oh of course everyone has, if you're reading this fanfic, but now you can't say that I didn't warn you).

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

_**Sicily, Italy**_

A middle aged man going by the name of Tino was sitting by a table of a poorly lit bar in the middle of the day drinking whisky. He had a short unkempt beard and shaggy ginger hair. His face was ragged but his eyes were as sharp as they were when he was twenty. He had a cigarette between his fingers as he drank from his glass.

His head turned when he heard the door open. A stream of sunlight poured in before the door closed behind the man who entered.

He was wearing a cloth cap covering his black hair and wore a plain shirt and pants of the working class. His eyes scanned the near-empty bar and stopped at Tino's table.

Tino raised his glass in a greeting when he saw the man approach.

"_Nice seeing you again. What did you do to those pretty blond locks of yours?"_ he asked the man.

"_How many fingers am I holding?"_ Alaude asked as he held out two fingers really close together. Tino glared at him.

"_I ain't drunk, boy! You know I don't get drunk, no matter how much I try to drink. I hold my liquor veeery well."_

Alaude already knew that. It was one of the reasons why he trusted the man enough to continue contact after leaving Italy. He would never accidentally spill out information as long as he was sober. _"What do you have for me?"_

Tino took another swig and set it down with a thump. _"Not a lot more than what I told you the last time you came for a visit. Want a drink?"_

Alaude ignored the offer. Tino shrugged and poured himself more whisky. _"Still no leads on where Giotto went after he left the seat to Ricardo. Oh hey, did I mention that Ricardo is marrying his daughter off to this other famiglia? The Maurinos, I hear. It happened last week so there is no way you heard of it before today. And then there's Daemon." _He shook his head in disgust and spat on the ground. Soon after, a loud smack was heard as someone's palm hit a wooden counter. Alaude shifted his gaze to the woman cleaning the glassware.

"_Martino! How many times have I told you to stop spitting on my floor?"_

"_Ah shut up, woman! It gets dirty all the time anyways! Just wait for the midnight crowd to come and you'll have more on your floor than I can ever put there,"_ Tino shouted back. _"And get some food for my friend here!"_

The woman made a rude gesture at him but prepared a second dish.

Tino turned back to the conversation. _"That Daemon is helping Ricardo cause havoc for those in the area. When Giotto didn't completely conquer all of Europe, Ricardo picked up from where he left off and finished the job. Well, except for this little bar—it's in the Tomaso's part of town. The damn famiglia has been at war with the Vongola ever since Ricardo killed their princess."_

_Bad move on Ricardo's part,_ Alaude thought.

Tino drank some more as Alaude's plate was delivered by a teenage girl. Alaude took one look at it and shoved the plate towards Tino.

Tino said, _"Daemon was with Ricardo every step of the way. If there's blood on Ricardo's hands, there's double that on Daemon's. He's still making the Vongola the strongest famiglia out there. That's his goal. I guess he'll keep it as that till the day he dies."_

"_What of CEDEF," _Alaude said.

Tino chuckled. _"They are aloof as always. Nothing has really changed. 'The second Vongola'…they have no power at the moment, as we are in peaceful times. As peaceful as the mafia can get, that is. But I'd have to say that they were shifted more towards the mafia, since the group was only created when Giotto named Ricardo his heir…which happened later in the game, you know? But they will continue to support the Vongola."_

Alaude stood and put down the money that would cover for the food and for Tino's update.

"'_Preciate it,"_ Tino said with a nod at the money. Alaude grunted and left the bar without another word.

"_Hey! Bring over another bottle!"_

"_That was your tenth bottle, Martino!"_

"_Just bring the eleventh, woman!"_

* * *

Alaude met with his other correspondents and got roughly the same information: nothing.

When he left the last location, the sky was darkening to an angry red. All day when he wasn't meeting with his contacts, he was surveying the Vongola's security, the guards posted, and their rest periods. It hadn't changed much from his last visit but it was always better to be sure; Ricardo might have thought to change things around a bit.

Now, Alaude was dressed in a proper suit that all the men who were part of the Vongola wore. When the clock struck midnight, he approached the side of the mansion and slipped through one of the secret passageways that the guards—or Daemon—hadn't bothered to keep an eye on. It was dusty, filled with cobwebs, and dark, but Alaude had no trouble navigating the twists and turns. He felt for the knob at the end of the tunnel and gave it a twist.

He stopped to listen but heard nothing. None of his senses told him that anyone was nearby. When he stepped out, he was in the middle of a well kept garden between a statue and the hedge. He carefully pushed the stone slate back into place and took a look around.

The fountain was still running but no birds were drinking from it at this time of night. They added roses to the flowers that grew in this area, and a small pond was built a few metres ahead with a bench a couple feet away.

Only a few rooms on the first and second floors were lit. The third and fourth floors were entirely dark, filled with sleeping Guardians and their boss.

He walked through the garden carefully, stopping once in a while as the guards who patrolled the grounds passed by. Alaude shook his head at the guards' lack of attention, since they didn't even bother to look around. If it were him, he would have known that something was off immediately. That being said, he reminded himself that he shouldn't get too careless and continued carefully.

He first entered the room where a certain group of guards were supposed to be sleeping when they weren't on duty. Since most took the day shift and only three were still in the mansion for the night shift, two of the beds should be occupied. But only one of them was.

_Where is the second one?_ Alaude asked himself. He left the room and began to wander through the first floor. Maybe he went to the bathroom, since it was still too early to relieve the first guard.

He didn't like it when things or people weren't where they should be but there was nothing he could do with his limited time. He'd just have to be extra careful.

Walking through the kitchen, then the corridors, and then through the dining room reminded Alaude of the days when he himself lived in this mansion as well as the annoyances that came with doing that.

He remembered the times when Lampo would come running out, narrowly escaping a collision with Alaude while being chased by G who was screaming out curses at their youngest member over a petty thing. Most of the time, G would shout at Alaude for not stopping the boy. Thus, Alaude and G would start a fight, causing Giotto to come running at full speed with Asari right behind him.

Alaude shook his head at the memory. To this day, they were still as stupid. He cleared his mind and took a good look around the dark dining room. Guided more by memory than by sight, he walked up the staircase and avoided all the little creaks and groans that would sound if he stepped on those spots too floor would be for any guests that happened to drop by.

Across the hall and up another staircase led him to even more rooms. The boss' room was Alaude's target and he would find it on the third floor. When he neared the top of the stairs, he stopped to listen.

The last time he came, Ricardo had a guard posted outside of his study to discourage any spies who tried to come in. Alaude had simply waited for a change of shift; he already dealt with the replacement by drugging him. Because of that, the current guard had to leave his post to find his replacement which was all the time Alaude needed to sneak into the room.

This time however, he didn't hear and scuffling or breathing. Knowing that something was wrong, Alaude cautiously looked down the hallway and glared at the vacant spot outside of the boss' study. Where the hell was the guard?

Looking both ways, Alaude emerged from the shadows casted by the lamps and made his way to the double doors for a closer look. The door was closed shut as it should be but he heard men speaking quietly to one another within. If they were the boss or any of the guardians doing honest work in the room, they would have lighted some candles to see better but he didn't see any flickering lights from beneath the door.

Alaude's eyes narrowed as he listened to the conversation.

"_Check the desk."_

"_I already checked the desk. What about the cabinet?"_

"_Shut up, I'm working on it. These locks are hard to pick."_

It seemed to Alaude that Ricardo had spies in his own house, acting as guards for the very thing they were ordered to spy on.

"_There might be something behind the portrait."_

"_Why would there be something behind it? It's a stupid portrait. Anyone would look there first."_

"_Just shut your mouth and check."_

"_How?"_

Alaude snorted silently. _Idiots_, he thought as he opened the door a crack and slipped through. He closed the door and locked it. They even forgot to lock the door once they got in. He was definitely not going to let them ruin his work.

Faster than either of the two spies could see, Alaude ran at them and knocked them both unconscious. He handcuffed them both and began his own search of Ricardo's study ten seconds after he entered the room.

The spies may have checked the cabinet, but they might have missed any false bottoms or secret cubby holes in the walls. These were found easily by Alaude, but the things held inside didn't hold his interest for more than a few minutes so he replaced them perfectly and moved on.

He noted down the current allies of the Vongola. He also noted down the missions that Ricardo sent his Guardians on from time to time. They were not pretty.

Daemon's missions consisted of finding the weakest links in the Vongola and eliminating them. With his help, the Vongola had become ruthless, as Alaude already knew. People were already speaking of the Vongola with fear in their voice, unlike the admiration and respect they spoke with when Giotto was still there.

After ten minutes, Alaude had finished his search and the two guards were waking up. He walked to them and knelt.

They mumbled under their breath and their eyelids flickered.

"_Where am I?"_

"_What—uuhh…"_

Alaude waited for them to see his silhouette in the faint glow the moon gave the room.

They both started and tried to stand and pull their arms apart but that just caused them to fall over each other.

"_Who are you?"_ one of them whispered at Alaude.

Alaude said, _"You will forget you saw me if you want to live. You were searching Vongola Secondo's room. Do you think that will go well with them when they find you here in the morning? Or even a few minutes, as Daemon might realise something is amiss."_

The men paled and began to shiver at the thought of Daemon finding them here. He would kill them—no, he would probably torture them first.

"_Y-Yes, we won't mention you at all!"_

"…_" _Alaude removed the handcuffs and left.

The way these two men were talking to each other while they were supposed to be quiet was ridiculous. How did they last this long to become guards of the boss' room in the first place?

_CEDEF is getting sloppy._ Alaude's hands twitched to beat someone up as he left the grounds of his previous home yet again.

He walked on in silence passing the open bars and beggars who watched him like a hawk watches its prey. Not in the mood to fight his way out of a mugging, he gave them fierce glares and brought out his handcuffs to make them back off. When they saw the handcuffs they shrank back.

"_Damn cop shouldn't be wanderin' 'round here!"_ one of them muttered as Alaude got out of earshot.

* * *

Alaude slammed his rented room's door shut and locked it. After examining the room to make sure no one had been in there during his absence, he dropped the suit's jacket on the bed and proceeded to undress but stopped when he felt a package poke him in the ribs. He pulled out the envelope Giotto had given him the night before he left.

Right. He still had one more stop to make. But he'd deal with that when the sun rises.

* * *

_**Namimori, Japan**_

"Are you sure about this, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked. Gokudera nodded enthusiastically.

"Hai, Juudaime!"

G shook his head at Tsuna. "No, don't discourage him! I'd rather him live in the trees than bother us."

Gokudera ignored him by turning to Tsuna. "The first thing I'll have to do is find some hay, wood, about a hundred nails, and a hammer!"

"…Where are you going to find wood to make a tree house?" Tsuna asked slowly.

"I'll just chop off a few trees."

_Right, like that's going to work!_ Tsuna thought his friend had finally lost his mind. He took that back when he heard Gokudera's next words: "Oh…and I have to find some offerings for the nature spirits which means I'll need some sort of animal, some candles, wine…" Tsuna sweat dropped. _He's long gone. No one can save him now._

"Ne, ne, Tsuna-nii, what are you talking about?" Ienari asked. Tsuna looked at the boy sitting next to him and sighed.

_**-Flashback-**_

"Hayato-kun, will you be staying with G?" Giotto asked when they entered the yard.

"No thanks," Gokudera said as soon as the words left Giotto's mouth.

"I'll kick him out the moment he steps through the door," G said right after.

Gokudera glares at him. "Who would want to go to your old, tattered house anyways?"

G's eye twitched. "My house is not old, and it's not in tatters!"

"Where will you sleep then?" Giotto inquired.

"I'll build a tree house!"

Tsuna, G, and Giotto gave him strange looks.

"Gokudera-kun…how are you going to build one?"

"Just find some materials and it'll be all good!"

"Have you made one before?" G asked sceptically.

"No, but I know the main idea and how one looks, so it'll be perfectly fine!" Gokudera declared.

_**-Flashback End-**_

"A tree house…?" Ienari said with a frown. "How do you make a tree into a house?"

"N-No, that's not it," Tsuna said. "You make a house in a tree."

Ienari's mouth dropped open in amazement. "Hayato-nii can make a house in a tree!?"

"Yeah," Tsuna answered slowly. _I hope so._

"Here you go!" Kiku said and gave the the food that was their lunch.

"Itadakimasu!" Gokudera and Tsuna said at the same time and dug in.

"Whatever it is, I'm leaving now," G said. "I'm leaving the file with Giotto so when you're ready, take it and study from it."

"Thank you, G-san," Tsuna said in between mouthfuls. Gokudera just grunted.

"Whatever. See you brats later. _Ciao, Giotto."_

"_Hm—Ciao,"_ Giotto said absentmindedly as he listened to his son ramble on about his day.

When Ienari finally ran out of breath, Giotto grinned and said, "So you had fun, I take it."

"Hai! A lot of fun! But Tsuna-nii and Hayato-nii went somewhere with Gokudera-ojisan all morning…" Ienari said with a pout.

"We can spend some time with you later, Ienari," Tsuna offered with when he heard the boy's complaint.

Ienari beamed widely and jumped up and down laughing. "Yay!" he cheered.

"I'll see you later then," Giotto said. Ienari nodded enthusiastically and hugged him tight.

"Hayato-kun," Giotto said.

"Yes, Primo?"

Giotto sighed inwardly at the name. "The loggers are in the market now. Supplies of wood should be easy to find."

Gokudera nodded his understanding.

"And that concludes my lunch break," Giotto muttered. "I'll be back later this evening." He waved good bye and left them.

He was surprised to find G waiting for him. "G is something the matter?"

"Walk and talk," was all he said and he began walking. Giotto shrugged and followed.

"Well, what is it?"

"They somehow know about Shimon."

"Why would they know about him and his family?"

"I don't know how they figured it out. Either they met the family in their time, or the Shimon Family stayed in the records."

Giotto spoke quietly. "Whatever the records are, they should all state that Cozart died."

"In any case, it shouldn't matter what they know," G said. "It's not our problem. Besides, you and Shimon are still communicating with each other. His family definitely knows that he's still alive and didn't die in the war." _Which makes me wonder why Tsunayoshi asked me that question,_ G thought.

"What did you tell them so far?" Giotto asked.

"Just a brief description of what the family is. Although the little Vongola brat asked me if Shimon really died in that war."

"And you told him…?"

"Nothing. I threw the rock at you."

"Aaahh…" Giotto nodded understandingly and then he suddenly had G in a headlock. "Yeah, what was that about anyways?" he asked. "You almost killed me!"

G struggled and managed to grab Giotto's other arm. "Shut up! I didn't know it was you there."

"You still don't throw _rocks_ at people with no warning!"

"Giving no warning is the point!" G grunted as he freed himself but not before Giotto dug one of his knuckles into G's head teasingly.

After their little scuffle, they moved on with G going home and Giotto going to the lord's castle.

* * *

Only when Giotto left did Tsuna remember something he wanted to ask. "Gokudera-kun, how do you plan to pay for all of that?!"

"All of what, Juudaime?" Gokudera asked.

"The-The stuff you're buying to make this _tree house!"_

Gokudera smiled nervously and flapped a hand. He then spoke in a very cheerful tone saying, "J-Juudaime, there's no need to worry! Everything will work out in the end!"

Tsuna stared at him with a deadpanned expression.

Ienari ran back in and stopped at the table. "Kaa-san says we have to go buy food."

Tsuna blinked. "Eh? O-Okay…?" Tsuna looked at Gokudera. _What...does that have to do with us?_

Ienari continued when he didn't receive a more impressive response from the older boy. "Kaa-san said that you should come with us. For…wood?" Ienari asked with a confused expression.

"O-Oh!" Tsuna's slow brain finally began to turn its gears. "Okay, we'll come with you."

Ienari smiled widely.

"_Ienari! Have you told them?"_ Kiku called from another part of the house. _"I'm leaving now!"_

"Haaaaaaaaai!" Ienari said and ran for the door while pulling Tsuna behind him.

"_Hiie!"_ Tsuna stumbled but caught himself before he fell and embarrassed himself.

"Come on," Ienari said and pulled until they were out of the house and onto the road. Kiku shook her head at her son but couldn't resist a smile.

"Don't pull people like that, Ienari. It's rude."

"Sorry!" Ienari didn't look sorry at all. "I love today!" he said and took his mother's hand and began skipping along.

"Wood, nails, hammer, candles, live animal…" Gokudera muttered to himself the list of things he had to find.

"You really don't have to worry about the nature spirits," Tsuna found himself saying.

"But Juudaime, don't you remember that time, in the mountains? One of them almost attacked us because we were intruding," Gokudera protested.

_That—that was Dino-san's turtle!_

"Can we get some apples?" Ienari asked.

"No, they are too expensive this time. Let's find something else," Kiku said and moved them along.

Tsuna and Gokudera were walking further along, looking for the man who was supposed to supply them with wood. Along the way, they encountered someone selling little charms, another woman standing next to a stall filled with cloth, a small eating house, and a noodle stand.

Tsuna heard Kiku and Ienari greeting their neighbours as they walked, but he didn't pay much attention to them since he was helping Gokudera look for the shops he needed.

"I think it's around here," Gokudera said. "Look! This might be the blacksmith."

"…We still don't have any money."

Then someone screamed.

"Please give that back!" someone else shouted.

Gokudera and Tsuna were instantly alert. They turned their heads to the sound of the cry and saw a teenage boy trying to reach for something a man held over his head. The man laughed.

He had black hair and a stubby beard with a muscular build and stood six feet tall. His hands were rough, showing signs of hard labour and his voice was deep and intimidating.

The boy on the other hand looked as though he'd never lifted a shovel in his life, if Tsuna was going by his lanky form and twig-like arms.

Tsuna looked around and saw that people were still going along on their own business despite the commotion.

_It's probably a daily thing then,_ Tsuna thought and slowly began to inch away from the commotion. It was then that he noticed Ienari staring attentively at the teenager and the man, who were struggling over something rectangular.

"Maybe we should just move on," Gokudera mumbled. "It's none of our business. The dude can probably handle himself."

"Y-Yeah…you're right," Tsuna said hesitantly. He didn't want to get involved in another fight. Plus, there was no Reborn around to kick him (which would force him to land in front of the bullies), so he'd take his chances on walking away quietly…

"Stop that!" a young voice shouted. Tsuna turned around and gasped. Ienari was standing in front of the man with a defiant look on his face, feet spread apart and little hands fisted.

"Ienari!" Tsuna ran to the boy and pulled his arm. "What are you doing?" he whispered frantically.

Gokudera and Kiku were right behind him. He also noticed that a crowd was beginning to form.

Market bullies were always around and they were part of daily life, but a confrontation with a third party was something out of the ordinary. Adding to that, it came from a kid.

So what do people do? They gather around.

"He should give that back," Ienari said. "It's not his!"

"Just stay out of this, brat!"

Ienari flinched but stood as firm as any nine year old child could stand in front of such a huge man. "No, you don't take what isn't yours!"

_Mou, why does he have to be so noble?_ Tsuna thought.

Just then, the teen stepped on the man's left foot and elbowed him in the stomach. The man grunted and struggled to keep a hold on the box which was what the teen wanted to take back.

The man pushed the teen violently into the vegetable stall.

The box slid on the ground away from them both.

"You kids are all alike. None of you respect those who should receive it! And then you, you filthy wench, you had to go and leave, huh!?"

Mutterings began in the crowd.

"_The man's drunk."_

"_At this hour? Shameful."_

"_No wonder his wife left him."_

"_And he's hitting that poor boy. Where is his honour?"_

"I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME, BRAT," the man roared, his eyes red with anger as he pulled something from within his sleeve. The crowd gasped and took a step back. It was a knife. In his other hand, he held a gun.

"Ienari, get back!" Tsuna shouted and pushed the boy behind him so he staggered towards his mother.

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Ienari!" Kiku clutched at her son and hugged him so he couldn't be a target. "Tsunayoshi-kun, Hayato-kun—please get away from that man!"

"_He has a knife!"_

"_He's going to stab those boys!"_

"_What if he has more than just a knife and that western weapon?"_

"_He must be crazy on top of drunk!"_

That was the final straw. The crowd began to go crazy and people ran in all directions.

"Damn you. Where did you get that gun?" Gokudera demanded as he stood next to Tsuna.

The man raised his head and laughed. "You can get anything from those stupid westerners as long as you have the money. That's why they came to Japan, isn't it? To sell their weapons! You have no idea how much harm this thing does!" He let out another laugh.

Tsuna activated his flames and was next to the man before he could take his next breath. He reached for the gun, planning on melting the barrel but he had to jump out of the way when the man tried to stab him.

When the man tried to swing again, Tsuna ducked and came up fast. He used his gloved right hand to hold onto the man's left hand, stopping the knife effectively. Then with his left hand he reached for the gun's barrel.

In that split second, Tsuna changed his grip and aimed to simply disarm the man. It wouldn't be good if people came around to ask questions on how a boy was able to melt metal with his hands. He didn't need to cause his ancestors any more trouble than he already has.

Tsuna twisted the other arm so the knife fell out of the right hand and then he stepped back. Gokudera was there instantly to push the man to the floor.

"You idiot! Did you really think you could beat him?" Gokudera sneered at him.

"Gerrof!"

"What's going on here?" a snappy voice demanded from behind. Gokudera turned his head and frowned. He guessed that the men who were running towards him were what they called enforcers during this time.

"He was trying to kill me!" the teen said as he recovered his box, which Tsuna now recognised as a board game. "He had a knife and that weapon! These two helped me." He pointed to Gokudera and Tsuna, who was now out of his Hyper Mode.

Tsuna rushed to Ienari and Kiku. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, we're fine," Kiku breathed out as she watched the law enforcers drag the man away. "Thank you, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna looked embarrassed as he ducked his head and rubbed his neck. "Well…I had to do something, right?"

Kiku smiled and absentmindedly rubbed Ienari's shoulders. "Yes…it seems like I can be proud of you both."

"Eh?"

Kiku shook her head. "I'm just…chattering. I'm still nervous."

"Excuse me?"

Tsuna turned around and saw the lanky teen behind him with a shy smile. Gokudera was approaching with an angry look on his face.

"Thank you for helping," he said with a smile. "I want to repay you and your friend!"

Tsuna was taken aback. "You what? But it was nothing!"

"Juudaime, what does he want?" Gokudera asked.

"I will definitely repay you!" he said again.

_Repay us?_ Gokudera thought. _Che! What does he think he can give us that we need?_

"My family is in charge of the construction work that goes around in Namimori! So if there's anything that you need fixing, just say that Kibori Hikaru owes you a favour."

Tsuna blinked. "Kibori?" he said and turned to Gokudera whisper, "Doesn't that sound familiar to you?"

"Maybe," Gokudera whispered back as he tried to remember why it sounded so familiar.

"Hai!" Hikaru said with a wide smile. He spread his arms and said grandly, "My family owns _Nami-Kibori_, the local builders' company!" He spun in a circle, arms still embracing the world with lights shining all around, and stopped in front of them again. "We come near and far to your homes to fix whatever you need!" he dropped his arms and gave them a thumbs-up with his free hand that wasn't holding the game board.

Tsuna and Gokudera sweat dropped. "…"

"…Okay." Tsuna blinked a few more times to get rid of the spots he was seeing. _Nami-Kibori…?_

Tsuna recalled seeing a building with that name on it somewhere in Namimori…except that the name was plastered on a skyscraper, not some little store he and Gokudera were now standing in front of.

"Speaking of which…I do need some wood," Gokudera said numbly.

"Wood? We have wood!" Hikari said. "What would you like to build?" he asked excitedly.

"Nothing," Gokudera snapped. "If you give me the wood for free with some nails and a hammer then your debt will be paid."

Ienari turned to his mother. "Kaa-san…"

"Hm?"

"I thought we had to pay for stuff."

"…The thing is, Ienari…" Kiku started to say. "Sometimes you don't."

"But when don't you need to?" He thought of another question right after that one left him. "But does that mean I don't need to pay too?"

_Hayato-kun, why did you need to do this? I didn't expect to teach my son the morals of good behaviour this quickly. You're confusing him!_ Kiku had a vague image of her making the boy sit seiza-styled(1) for an entire night.

"No, you have to pay every time you buy something. Do not let Hayato-nii fool you into thinking you don't," Kiku said.

"But…"

"Ask your father that question when he comes home. He will explain it much better."

"Hai…"

* * *

Giotto was sitting behind a desk calculating the lord's accounts, thinking about the tree house that Gokudera planned on building.

_Can he actually build a tree house?_ Giotto thought with concern. _Will they even be alright? I don't want any accidents to happen while they try to build one._

Suddenly, one of his coworkers barged in.

"Hey, guess what? Something happened in the market just now!"

The others crowded around him.

"What happened?"

"There was this man picking on this young boy!"

The others groaned and began to get back to their stations. "That happens all the time."

"No, listen. It gets better. "This chibi comes in and demands that the man stop."

"What, some kid?" They laughed. "He better run to his mother quick before the man does something."

"That's the thing," the news bringer said.

Giotto's ears perked at the lowered tone.

"The man brought out a knife and one of those western weapons!"

"A gun?" Giotto stood up from his seat fast. Someone was armed with a gun in Namimori? _Weren't Kiku and Ienari going to the market this afternoon?_ His blood chilled.

"Yeah, a gun—oh Sawada, I think that kid was your son. He has blond hair and golden eyes right? Looked just like you, the kid did."

Giotto didn't stay to listen to the rest of the sentence. He ran out the door quicker than they've ever seen him run.

"Wait Sawada, he's safe…well he ran fast," the man said. "He didn't even stay for the good part."

Giotto's coworkers hit the man over the head. "Idiot! You just told him that his son was facing a man with a blade, of course he'd run!"

"But he's safe! There were these two young men who stopped it. The one with brown hair actually fought him! I saw the fight with my own two eyes."

"Hey, you three—get back to work!"

"Hai," they chorused.

* * *

_No, no, no, no,_ Giotto thought as he ran. _Please no. I would've known if something happened. No, no, no, no…where are they?_ He ran on, worried thoughts running through his head. His last moments with his wife and son were so brief. If those were the last things he said to them, he wouldn't know what he'd do.

He ran through the market looking for any sign of them anxiously. He grabbed at someone he recognised.

"My wife and son, have you seen them?" he demanded.

The man nodded vigorously. "There was a bit of trouble just now, but I think they left to go home—"

"Thanks," Giotto said as he ran. He dodged his neighbours and almost crashed into a few stalls but was saved by his reflexes.

_The boys are with them, so they should be fine, right? They are from the future. Surely they have a few things up on their sleeves._ Barely out of breath, Giotto rounded a corner and approached the houses. _I don't know how well they fight, but they should be able to fend off one man. Two against one are good odds,_ he reasoned with himself as he approached his home.

"Kiku?" he called out as he entered. "Ienari?"

Running footsteps came from the back of the house. He let out a breath when he saw something blond hurdle itself towards him.

"Ienari!"

"Tou-chan is home early," Ienari said with a giggle. Giotto knelt to hug him so tightly that he squeaked.

"How are you, Ienari?"

"Good! Tou-chan, I stopped a bad guy in the market today!"

"Y-Yeah? How did you do it?" Giotto asked as he picked his son up.

"I told him to stop! And then he stopped. But he took out a knife and something black. Then Tsuna-nii told me to get back. Then he went VOOM! And BOOM! And AAH! The man was on the floor. Then Hayato-nii was sitting on him."

Giotto's mouth twitched at his son's sound effects and awesome gestures.

"I'm just glad you're safe."

"Why wouldn't I be safe, Tou-chan? Tsuna-nii was there."

"Yes, it's a good thing they were there. Where are they now?"

"They are in the forest. Said I couldn't go. Kaa-san wanted me to work on my mulipicashun."

"And where is kaa-san?"

"My room!"

"Let's go there then! But I want to speak with Tsunayoshi-kun and Hayato-kun."

"Okay."

Giotto found his wife and was relieved to see that she was alright too, even though he was certain that nothing bad happened to either of them.

"I heard what happened in the market," Giotto said to explain his presence.

Kiku nodded grimly. "That man had a gun on him. He scared me witless and I just stood there until Tsunayoshi-kun pushed Ienari out of the way."

"Seems like I owe the boy quite a few favours," Giotto said with a chuckle. "Could you tell me where they are?"

"They are in the forest building that tree house. I told Hayato-kun that he didn't need to, but he insisted."

"Where in the forest are they?" Giotto asked curiously.

"You can't miss them; they are so loud the wildlife has been scared off for the time being."

Giotto raised his brows. "Well that explains the noise I've been hearing," he said as he left.

* * *

"That bastard was about to tell us something," Gokudera said as he hammered away. Tsuna passed him another piece of wood.

"He gave me this look," Tsuna said. "It was like he was hiding something, or I asked a question that he couldn't answer."

Gokudera paused and looked at Tsuna. "What did you ask, Juudaime?"

Tsuna scratched his head. "Actually, I was answering _G's_ question. I told him I heard from Reborn that Shimon Primo was killed in the war. That is what Adelheid told us, right?"

Gokudera nodded and went back to building the floor of his tree house. "So the answer is whether he really died in that war. If he did, then that woman was right. If he _didn't_, then that means Vongola Primo didn't use his friend as bait which means Vongola Primo isn't the bad guy."

Tsuna nodded in agreement.

"_Or,"_ Gokudera continued as he hammered the nail home. Tsuna panicked. _Or? Or what? There is no 'or'!_

"Or, Shimon Primo didn't die in the war—_not_ because Vongola Primo helped him out of the mess, but because he was strong enough to get out of it himself. That might mean that Vongola Primo really did use him as bait. If that's what happened, then it's possible that Shimon Primo bears a grudge against Vongola Primo, causing him to tell his descendants that Vongola is Shimon's enemy." Gokudera hammered the final nail for the floor and let the hammer drop to the ground.

"That doesn't sound likely, Gokudera-kun."

"Hai, Juudaime. But it's possible. Otherwise, how else did that idiot Enma come up with that story?"

"But Vongola Primo would never betray his friend!" Tsuna insisted. Gokudera faltered in his reasoning, doubting himself because of his boss' belief in the first boss.

"That's…very true, Juudaime. Primo doesn't seem to be that type of sneaky person."

"But we still don't have any proof. Even if Primo tells us everything, Enma-kun won't believe us."

"I'm sure Juudaime will find a way to convince him!" Gokudera said with stars in his eyes.

"U-Un…" Tsuna tried to smile. _For some reason, I don't have that confidence in myself.._. "I wonder what everyone else is doing. It's the third day since I've been here. Chrome is still kidnapped. Yamamoto…I don't even know how he's doing."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them became lost in their own thoughts. Tsuna wondered for the umpteenth time if Yamamoto would be in the hospital if it weren't for him. What made Yamamoto want to follow him anyways? It was all a crazy mess to begin with. And what would Mukuro do to him if Chrome got hurt? He didn't even want to think about it.

_How are they treating Chrome? Are they being nice to her? I hope they just leave her alone. Why did they kidnap her in the first place—to give us a reason to follow them? _

Tsuna wondered if they would actually follow Enma if they didn't take Chrome. Other than Chrome, they didn't have anything of his. Except…he couldn't just let them get away with what they did to Yamamoto. And how can he live on knowing that there was a super big misunderstanding between them all? No, they definitely needed to clear this stupid mess.

Gokudera was the one to break the silence.

"The Shimon and Vongola were supposed to be as close as brothers, right?" he asked.

Tsuna snapped out of his brooding. "Uh…yeah that's right."

Gokudera crossed his arms. "Then there's even less of a possibility for them to hate each other!"

"But then how did the rumour get handed down so many generations?" Tsuna muttered with a groan. He pulled his hair with both his hands as if that could help him come up with an answer.

Gokudera had a troubled expression on his face. "Whatever it is, you have to be careful, Juudaime. That Kozato Enma is hell bent on getting revenge on the Vongola."

Tsuna nodded with a sad look in his eyes but tensed when he saw Gokudera staring in horror at something behind his boss. "Gokudera-kun?"

Then Tsuna heard the leaves crackle with the weight of someone stepping on them. He turned to see who had come…to see who could put that look in his friend's eyes.

There Giotto stood with cool shock marking every feature of his face.

_P-Primo!_ Tsuna dropped the piece of wood he was holding to the ground.

* * *

…_Not this again,_ Primo thought dully as he experienced a moment of déjà vu. _Why do I always walk in at the most distressing times, to find something that I believed was impossible…to actually occur? _

"H-How much did you hear?" his descendant asked hesitantly.

_How much did I hear?_ Giotto thought. _Oh, I heard enough to be thoroughly freaked out about what the future holds for my family. I heard about how the Shimon Family is trying to get revenge against the Vongola Family—my family. What else do I need to know? That we're basically enemies in the future? This must be a joke._

"I heard enough," Giotto heard himself say faintly.

_What happened to the oath that Cozart and I swore right after the battle? What happened to our families being close friends forever, with the Shimon always there to back up the Vongola? What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?_

"I want you to tell me everything," Giotto said in a soft, dangerous voice. "I am in no mood for more excuses, nor am I patient at the moment."

As Tsuna and Gokudera tripped over their own words to spill everything, Giotto did his best to collect himself while he listened.

_Did I really say that?_ Giotto wondered. _That didn't sound like me at all. I don't think I've ever said that to anyone before. _

Giotto listened as they told him about Kozato Enma, the tenth boss of the Shimon Family and his six Guardians.

He listened as his descendant told them about how they became friends, and then how one of Tsuna's friends and Guardian was attacked after baseball practice. It was possible that he might never lift another bat in his life.

He listened as they told him about Shimon's attack during the inheritance ceremony. Enma and his Guardians were the ones who gave Tsunayoshi and Hayato those injuries.

He listened and learned that one of them even kidnapped their Mist Guardian, while she was unconscious from the fight. None of them were able to lift a finger to fight back, thanks to the blood of Shimon Cozart…called _sin_ that was used on the Shimon rings of the Earth.

And that was when, Tsunayoshi said, he was transported to the past. Right outside of Vongola Primo's doorstep.

Tsuna and Gokudera gave each other worried looks when they finished talking. Giotto hadn't said a word throughout the explanation and his expression didn't change a bit. What did he think of the whole thing?

_Is he going to tell us what really happened?_ Tsuna thought. That was the main question that was running through his head over and over again.

They turned to watch Giotto carefully.

Giotto's mind was blank. He just didn't know what to think of this. It was…

"P-Primo, where are you going?" Tsuna asked worriedly when Giotto turned his back to them.

Giotto shook his head. "I need some time alone," he murmured so quietly he wasn't sure if they heard him or not.

* * *

Tsk, tsk, Tsuna and Gokudera couldn't even stay three days in the past without someone finding out about Enma. xD Stay tuned for the next chapter!

**(1)** Seiza is a traditional sitting position that is pretty painful or numbing for those who aren't used to it. If you were to sit in that position for an entire night…well I think you get my meaning. For more info visit your best friend, Google. (I also don't know if I'm using the word right. I'm sorry if it's wrong)

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**- Hello: **I bet you're half happy with this chapter…Tsuna spilled the beans but we don't see Giotto's reaction…

**- Great: **I don't think I'll be mentioning the wake-up method, sorry. As for whether they'll still be there when Alaude comes back…you'll just have to wait and see. :D

…

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

As many people have mentioned…school is starting soon! For me, it's early September. Which means… I don't know. I haven't started school yet. I don't feel like giving you the warning of "no updates any time soooon!" since nothing is definite of the unknown future, right? I wish you luck, as I wish myself luck, that we'll all survive another school year, or another day at work, or…well whatever you're doing with life.

That's my goodbye speech until the next update!

Ciao ciao~

* * *

_**-LLM**_

_**Uploaded 2013-08-28th**_

_**Edited 2013-08-29th**_


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